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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1562437
This article is part of the Research Topic Early-stage retinal diseases: Pathophysiology, Diagnostics and Therapeutics View all 3 articles
Exploration of the visual streak of the Mongolian gerbil as a model for the human central retina
Provisionally accepted- 1 Division of Ocular Neurodegeneration, Research Institute for Ophthalmology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- 2 Core Facility for Medical Bioanalytics (CFMB), Research Institute for Ophthalmology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
The Mongolian gerbil (MG), a day-active rodent, features a particular retinal region of high visual acuity, the visual streak (VS). Optimized for vision in desert-like environments, the VS allows for a particularly good view of the horizon between the projection areas of the sky and the ground. Here, we assess the structural basis of this specialized region and compare the findings to the conditions at the human retinal center.The VSs of MG retinas (n=5) were evaluated morphologically with immunohistochemistry for cone, rod, and RPE cell-specific markers in dorsoventral cross-sections, and the results were compared to data from the near (adjacent) and far periphery. Mass spectrometry of the VS and peripheral retina/RPE was used for analysis of the proteomic differential expression between these regions.In the VS of the MG, we found an increased density of cones, elongated photoreceptor outer segments (OSs), and a rod-to-cone ratio lying within the zone of descent between the border of the macula and the fovea (macular shoulder). Likewise, the base area of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells in the VS was significantly reduced, while cells were taller than those in the periphery. Accordingly, proteomic data provided evidence for an enhanced abundance of key proteins relevant for photoreceptor and RPE function and pathophysiology of macular diseases in the VS.The high degree of conformance between the VS data of the MG and the human central retina renders the MG a promising rodent, non-primate model of the central human retina.
Keywords: Animal Models, Human Central Retina, Macular Degeneration, mongolian gerbil, Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Visual streak
Received: 17 Jan 2025; Accepted: 01 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Günter, Jarboui, Muehlfriedel and Seeliger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Alexander Günter, Division of Ocular Neurodegeneration, Research Institute for Ophthalmology, University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72016, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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