Myopia in mouse models

Abstract

Myopia is the most common ocular affection worldwide. It is a multifactorial disorder involving both environmental and genetic factors. To decipher the mechanisms implicated in emmetropisation process and the onset of refractive errors, a wide variety of animal models have been proposed to date. Among them, the chicken model is the most historical, provided the most basic findings and is still the most commonly used model nowadays. Non human primates were also extensively used due to their good optics and their proximity to humans. Due to their low optics and their nocturnal activity, the mouse model was largely excluded from the field of myopia for decades. However, it raised interest for a few years now, due to ethical and technical limitations observed in previous models. An increasing number of studies focus on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Thus, the easiness of breeding and manipulating lightning environment added to the wide range of genetic tools allowing the modification or inactivation of genes and biological functions highlighted the potential of mouse models. This talk will review the most recent contributions of mouse models to the research field in emmetropisation and myopia. As the retina is the first actor of the integration of light stimuli, we will focus on retinal signalling defects such as those observed in congenital stationary night blindness.