Spatially-dependent model for rods and cones in the retina.

Autor: Anderson DM; Applied & Computational Mathematics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, 20899, MD, USA; Department of Mathematical Sciences, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, 22030, VA, USA. Electronic address: daniel.anderson@nist.gov., Brager DC; Applied & Computational Mathematics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, 20899, MD, USA. Electronic address: dcbrager@gmail.com., Kearsley AJ; Applied & Computational Mathematics Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, 20899, MD, USA. Electronic address: anthony.kearsley@nist.gov.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of theoretical biology [J Theor Biol] 2024 Feb 21; Vol. 579, pp. 111687. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 14.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2023.111687
Abstrakt: We develop a mathematical model for photoreceptors in the retina. We focus on rod and cone outer segment dynamics and interactions with a nutrient source associated with the retinal pigment epithelium cells. Rod and cone densities (number per unit area of retinal surface) are known to have significant spatial dependence in the retina with cones located primarily near the fovea and the rods located primarily away from the fovea. Our model accounts for this spatial dependence of the rod and cone photoreceptor density as well as for the possibility of nutrient diffusion. We present equilibrium and dynamic solutions, discuss their relation to existing models, and estimate model parameters through comparisons with available experimental measurements of both spatial and temporal photoreceptor characteristics. Our model compares well with existing data on spatially-dependent regrowth of photoreceptor outer segments in the macular region of Rhesus Monkeys. Our predictions are also consistent with existing data on the spatial dependence of photoreceptor outer segment length near the fovea in healthy human subjects. We focus primarily on the healthy eye but our model could be the basis for future efforts designed to explore various retinal pathologies, eye-related injuries, and treatments of these conditions.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that the submitted manuscript and associated research is correct and that no situation of real, potential, or apparent conflict of interest is known to any of us.
(Published by Elsevier Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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