Simvastatin protects photoreceptors from oxidative stress induced by all‐<scp><i>trans</i></scp>‐retinal, through the up‐regulation of interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein

Abstract

Our findings suggest that simvastatin has a novel role in protecting photoreceptors from atRAL-induced stress. Simvastatin treatment resulted in up-regulation of IRBP and its upstream transcription factor CRX in Y79 cells, ex vivo human retinal explants, and murine retinas in vivo. Further studies of simvastatin to treat photoreceptor degeneration are warranted.