Abigail Patin

A major area of active research in ocular immunology resides in the role of immune cells in the activation and progression of disease, specifically investigating the role of microglia. In previous studies, the use of a mouse strain with specific targeting of these tissue resident macrophages in combination with intraocular injections of tamoxifen was utilized to contribute to the study of the role of microglia in spontaneous autoimmune uveoretinitis (SAU). However, it was discovered that this system, specifically issues with the tamoxifen delivery, was not eliciting the results expected upon analysis of microglial depletion and with this outcome, the focus shifted to creating a new mouse model and method for depleting microglial cells. Using four different strains of mice, and combining these strains all into one mouse model, retinal microglial cells can be tracked and depleted during SAU development, by tagging the microglia with fluorescent protein and the diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR). The gel electrophoresis images from these mice strains have shown the expected results, and the effort to create the final experimental mouse continues on. The combination of these tools into one mouse model will further allow researchers to track and deplete retinal microglia to determine their role in disease manifestation and progression to better understand the key to retinal and CNS microglia function.