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Nonselective Expression of Short-Wavelength Cone Opsin Improves Learning in Mice with Retinal Degeneration in a Visually Guided Task

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Abstract

The study explored the potential of an animal opsin nonselectively expressed in various neuronal elements of the degenerative retina to restore the impaired visual function. A knockout murine model of inherited retinal dystrophy was used. Mice were injected intravitreally with either a virus carrying the gene of short-wavelength cone opsin associated with a reporter fluorescent protein or a control virus carrying the sequence of a modified fluorescent protein with enhanced membrane tropism. Viral transduction induced pronounced opsin expression in ganglion, bipolar, and horizontal retinal neurons. Behavioral testing included the visually guided task in the trapezoid Morris water maze and showed a partial recovery of the learning ability in the mice whose retinas had been transduced with cone opsin.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to A.Yu. Rotov and researchers of the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry and Institute of Translational Biomedicine for kindly providing mice of the rd1_KO strain.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (agreement no. 075-15-2020-795, internal no. 13.1902.21.0027).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    O. S. Idzhilova, D. E. Kolotova, G. R. Smirnova, A. Abonakour & A. Yu. Malyshev

  2. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    O. S. Idzhilova, D. E. Kolotova, G. R. Smirnova, D. A. Dolgikh &  M. A. Ostrovsky

  3. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University), Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    A. Abonakour

  4. Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    D. A. Dolgikh, L. E. Petrovskaya &  M. P. Kirpichnikov

  5. Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

    D. A. Dolgikh,  M. P. Kirpichnikov &  M. A. Ostrovsky

Authors
  1. O. S. Idzhilova
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  2. D. E. Kolotova
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  3. G. R. Smirnova
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  4. A. Abonakour
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  5. D. A. Dolgikh
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  6. L. E. Petrovskaya
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  7. M. P. Kirpichnikov
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  8. M. A. Ostrovsky
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  9. A. Yu. Malyshev
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Correspondence to A. Yu. Malyshev.

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Conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Statement on the welfare of animals. All procedures in studies with animals were performed in compliance with ethical standards of the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology and approved Russian and international guidelines for the care and use of animals.

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Translated by T. Tkacheva

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Idzhilova, O.S., Kolotova, D.E., Smirnova, G.R. et al. Nonselective Expression of Short-Wavelength Cone Opsin Improves Learning in Mice with Retinal Degeneration in a Visually Guided Task. Dokl Biol Sci 510, 167–171 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496623700369

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0012496623700369

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