AUTHOR=Ferdous Salma , Shelton Debresha A. , Getz Tatiana E. , Chrenek Micah A. , L’Hernault Nancy , Sellers Jana T. , Summers Vivian R. , Iuvone P. Michael , Boss Jeremy M. , Boatright Jeffrey H. , Nickerson John M. 

TITLE=Deletion of histone demethylase Lsd1 (Kdm1a) during retinal development leads to defects in retinal function and structure

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience

VOLUME=17

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncel.2023.1104592

DOI=10.3389/fncel.2023.1104592

ISSN=1662-5102

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Purpose</title><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Lysine specific demethylase 1 (<italic>Lsd1</italic>) in murine retinal development. LSD1 is a histone demethylase that can demethylate mono- and di-methyl groups on H3K4 and H3K9. Using Chx10-Cre and Rho-iCre75 driver lines, we generated novel transgenic mouse lines to delete <italic>Lsd1</italic> in most retinal progenitor cells or specifically in rod photoreceptors. We hypothesize that <italic>Lsd1</italic> deletion will cause global morphological and functional defects due to its importance in neuronal development.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We tested the retinal function of young adult mice by electroretinogram (ERG) and assessed retinal morphology by <italic>in vivo</italic> imaging by fundus photography and SD-OCT. Afterward, eyes were enucleated, fixed, and sectioned for subsequent hematoxylin and eosin (H&amp;E) or immunofluorescence staining. Other eyes were plastic fixed and sectioned for electron microscopy.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>In adult Chx10-Cre Lsd1<sup>fl/fl</sup> mice, we observed a marked reduction in a-, b-, and c-wave amplitudes in scotopic conditions compared to age-matched control mice. Photopic and flicker ERG waveforms were even more sharply reduced. Modest reductions in total retinal thickness and outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness were observed in SD-OCT and H&amp;E images. Lastly, electron microscopy revealed significantly shorter inner and outer segments and immunofluorescence showed modest reductions in specific cell type populations. We did not observe any obvious functional or morphological defects in the adult Rho-iCre75 Lsd1<sup>fl/fl</sup> animals.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p><italic>Lsd1</italic> is necessary for neuronal development in the retina. Adult Chx10-Cre Lsd1<sup>fl/fl</sup> mice show impaired retinal function and morphology. These effects were fully manifested in young adults (P30), suggesting that <italic>Lsd1</italic> affects early retinal development in mice.</p></sec>