Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium Leads to Localized Retinal Degeneration

Abstract

Conditional tissue-specific reduction in MnSOD induced oxidative stress in mouse RPE, leading to RPE dysfunction, damage to the choroid, and death of photoreceptor cells. The RPE oxidative stress did not cause drusen-like deposits, but the model recapitulated certain key aspects of the pathology of dry AMD and may be useful in testing therapies.