Functional and Structural Characterization of a Large Animal Model of RDH5-Associated Retinopathy
Laura M. Ford, Laurence M. Occelli, Mary E. Enfield, Nastassia A. Benjamin, Kelian Sun, Nate Pasmanter, Simon M. Petersen-Jones · 2026
Read Functional and Structural Characterization of a Large Animal Model of RDH5-Associated Retinopathy by Laura M. Ford, Laurence M. Occelli, Mary E. Enfield, Nastassia A. Benjamin, Kelian Sun, Nate Pasmanter, Simon M. Petersen-Jones (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/PMC13450645.txt.
Description
Ford and colleagues characterize a cat model of an inherited retinal disease in this 2026 study. Fundus albipunctatus causes night blindness and sometimes central vision loss, and it results from mutations in RDH5, a gene in the eye's vitamin A recycling pathway. Cats carrying such a mutation arose spontaneously, offering a large-animal model closer to humans than mice. The team examined them with retinal imaging, electrical response tests, and microscopy.
Beyond the known rod dysfunction, the cats' cones recovered slowly after intense light exposure, mirroring a second defect in patients. In cats that developed central degeneration, rod outer segments first lengthened and their tips disorganized, suggesting failed shedding and cleanup, before the light-sensing cells died. The authors present the model as a platform for understanding this disease family and testing future therapies.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Laura M. Ford, Laurence M. Occelli, Mary E. Enfield, Nastassia A. Benjamin, Kelian Sun, Nate Pasmanter, Simon M. Petersen-Jones |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 53 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |