Raster · study · 2026
Single-Cell Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals Rewiring of RPE and Muller Glia Signaling toward Photoreceptors Following Outer Segment Disruption in Prph2C213Y Mice
Listed in NCBI GEO
PRPH2 mutations cause inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs), but how photoreceptor outer segment (OS) disruption reshapes the surrounding retina remains unclear.
Description
Using a heterozygous Prph2C213Y/+ mouse model generated by CRISPR/Cas9, we characterized age-related retinal pathology and responses of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Muller glia. Independent age- and sex-matched cohorts were examined at 1, 3, and 6 months by electroretinography, optical coherence tomography, and fundus autofluorescence.
Mutant mice showed rod dysfunction from 1 month, RPE dysfunction from 3 months, and cone dysfunction by 6 months, accompanied by progressive outer retinal thinning and hyperautofluorescent deposits. Histological and ultrastructural analyses revealed OS disorganization, shortened RPE microvilli, RPE monolayer remodeling, increased RPE autofluorescence, and reactive Muller gliosis. Single-cell spatial transcriptomics of wild-type and mutant retinas at 6 months resolved nine cell populations and identified RPE cells and Muller glia as prominently perturbed non-photoreceptor populations.
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RPE cells showed an epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related remodeling state linked to a candidate Nfib-Fstl1 module, whereas Muller glia showed activation of activator protein 1 (AP-1) regulons, including Fos, Fosl2, and Junb, with predicted targets Osmr, A2m, and Stat3. Cell-cell communication analyses indicated coordinated changes in neuroprotective, inflammatory, and matrix-related signaling from RPE cells and Muller glia toward photoreceptors.
These findings indicate that PRPH2-associated retinal dystrophy is a multicellular process in which OS disruption drives coordinated RPE and Muller glial remodeling with potentially protective or pro-degenerative effects, and nominate the RPE Nfib-Fstl1 program, Muller glial AP-1 responses with predicted STAT3 involvement, and support-cell-derived growth factor signaling as candidate mutation-independent therapeutic targets.
Links
Get the data
- GEO FTP directory ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE342nnn/GSE342215 ↗
download · from NCBI GEO
Where it is published
- GEO accession page ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE342215 ↗
landing page · from NCBI GEO
Documentation and papers
- PRJNA1506710 ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1506710 ↗
project · from NCBI GEO
Topics
- Stated by source
- Mus musculus · Other
- From keywords
- Life Sciences
Provenance · 1 source records, 7 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCBI GEO | GSE342215 | 15 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:life-sciences | mapping · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[method].geo_series_type:other | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /gdstype |
| concepts[organism].NCBITaxon:10090 | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /taxon |
| description | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /summary |
| publication_date | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · NCBI GEO | connector:ncbi_geo@1.0.0 | /title |