Dietary Lipids Modulate Retinal Neovascular Lesions in AMD Mouse Model

Vldlr^−/− mice develop pathological RAP similar to AMD.^{25 (link)} Neovessels extend from the deep retinal vascular layer of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) toward the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Mice were fed defined rodent diets with either 2% ω-3 (DHA and EPA) or 2% ω-6 LCPUFA (AA)^{23 (link)} from postnatal day (P) 1. At P16, the eyes were enucleated and fixed in 4% PFA for 1 hour at room temperature. The retinas were dissected and stained overnight with fluorescent Griffonia Bandeiraea Simplicifolia Isolectin B4 (Alexa Fluor 594, I21413, Molecular Probes, 10 μg/mL) in 1 mM CaCl₂ in PBS, then whole mounted with photoreceptors facing up. Images were taken at 50× magnification on a Zeiss AxioObserver.Z1 microscope and merged to form one image with AxioVision 4.6.3.0 software. Vascular lesions were analyzed using the SWIFT_MACTEL method, a plugin in ImageJ.^{25 (link)}