Impact of Lighting on Rod Development in Preterm Mice
Research By: Shane D’Souza, PhD | Richard Lang, PhD
Post Date: August 1, 2023 | Publish Date: August 2023
Ophthalmology | Top Scientific Achievement
Researchers have long known that premature birth can lead to eyesight problems, often linked to retinopathy of prematurity. A new study from the Science of Light Center at Cincinnati Children’s reveals that preterm birth also affects eye development through changes in the supply of photoreceptor cells called rods.
“Our work highlights that the lighting environment is crucial for rod abundance in early postnatal mouse development,” says lead author Shane D’Souza, PhD.
Rods, which help the eye see in low light, are more abundant in mice raised in darkness compared to those exposed to a normal light cycle. This finding challenges the belief that rod development is solely genetically determined and suggests that external lighting conditions play a significant role. The study also has important implications for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), where lighting conditions vary widely.
“Many intensive care units have lighting standards that vary according to infant age,” D’Souza says. “These variations could impact rod development and long-term vision.”
Senior author Richard Lang, PhD, has been studying the effects of light on body development for decades. Cincinnati Children’s has implemented a programmable full-spectrum lighting system in its NICU to mimic natural sunlight cycles. Moving forward, the team plans to explore spectrally tuned lighting to prevent rod death in mouse models.
“If we can implement lighting as an intervention strategy, we could potentially reduce the impact on the retinas of premature infants while also providing effective lighting for our clinical teams,” D’Souza says.
Note: This study first appeared online in August 2023, then was published in print Nov. 2, 2024, in Developmental Cell.
Cincinnati Children’s co-authors on this study included Brian Upton, MD, PhD, Gowri Nayak, PhD, Kassidy Grover, Minh-Thanh Nguyen, PhD, and Yueh-Chiang Hu, PhD. Experts from the University of Washington, George Washington University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham also contributed.
Explore the 2024 Research Annual Report
| Original title: | Developmental control of rod number via a light-dependent retrograde pathway from intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells |
| Published in: | Developmental Cell |
| Publish date: | August 2023 |
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The Research Horizons blog features news and insights about the latest discoveries and innovations developed by the scientists of Cincinnati Children's. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
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