Most blinding diseases of the retina share a common feature – the loss of photoreceptor cells by apoptosis. Although degenerative diseases like age–related macular degeneration (AMD) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) are among the main causes for severe visual impairment and blindness, no effective therapeutical treatments are available to prevent loss of vision in human patients. Protection of retinal cells against cell death is a promising strategy to develop therapies aiming at the rescue of retinal function. For the successful design of neuroprotective strategies, it is essential to understand the molecular events leading to the degeneration of retinal cells. To study signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms during the degenerative processes, several mouse models of inherited retinal degeneration are used (Fauser et al., 2002).
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Thiersch, M. et al. (2008). The Hypoxic Transcriptome of the Retina: Identification of Factors with Potential Neuroprotective Activity. In: Anderson, R.E., LaVail, M.M., Hollyfield, J.G. (eds) Recent Advances in Retinal Degeneration. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 613. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-74904-4_8
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