Modelling of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in the retina ‐ what can we learn from animal models?

Abstract

AbstractRetinal neurodegeneration and visual dysfunction have been reported in the majority of Alzheimer’s patients, and, in light of the quest for novel biomarkers, the retina has been receiving increasing attention as an organ for diagnosing, monitoring, and understanding disease. Thinning of retinal layers, abnormalities in vasculature, and protein deposition can be imaged at unprecedented resolution, which offers a unique systems biology view on the cellular and molecular changes underlying AD. It makes the retina not only a promising target for biomarker development, but it also suggests that novel fundamental insights into the pathophysiology of AD can be obtained by studying the retina–brain axis.This presentation will show how the visual system, together with retinal imaging techniques and available animal models of AD, constitutes a unique toolbox for fundamental and preclinical studies of AD; and explore how the retina‐brain axis has the potential to revolutionize preclinical research of AD. We will discuss the strengths of the rodent retina as a model organ to investigate Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms. Studies in different AD mouse models will be presented to showcase how retinal imaging can reveal information about the structure, function, and molecular composition of the retina and thereby aid in diagnosing, monitoring, and understanding AD. Furthermore, we will touch upon how the organotypic heterogeneity of the retina versus the brain may hold clues to understanding AD, and how the unique anatomical organization of the visual system offers opportunities to investigate disease propagation along neural connections.