BMI SEMINAR // Enrica Strettoi - Neuronal degeneration in the retina and in the brain: common aspects and therapeutic strategies

Hundreds of different mutations in a variety of genes can lead to retinal degeneration and blindness, with an estimate of over 20 million visually-impaired patients worldwide. Hallmarks of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) are the primary, genetic degeneration of retinal rods followed by secondary death of cones, inevitably leading to severe vision loss up to blindness. Cone “bystander” degeneration is attributed to still elusive and intriguing biologic mechanisms: this clinically relevant process involves multiple factors and is a paradigm of non-cell autonomous interactions occurring in the CNS.
The talk will present recent data obtained by our laboratory aiming at delaying photoreceptor degeneration and vision loss in rodent models of RP. Both environment- and pharmacology- based in vivo studies will be illustrated supporting the notion that breakdown of the eye immune privilege and infiltration of macrophages and microglia contribute to retinal degenerations. Ongoing experiments will be presented to show that, similarly to other CNS diseases, inflammation in the retina contributes to neuronal degeneration and that vision in RP can be preserved using anti-inflammatory strategies.