TY - JOUR A1 - Mirza, Myriam A1 - Volz, Cornelia A1 - Karlstetter, Marcus A1 - Langiu, Monica A1 - Somogyi, Aleksandra A1 - Ruonala, Mika O. A1 - Tamm, Ernst R. A1 - Jägle, Herbert A1 - Langmann, Thomas T1 - Progressive retinal degeneration and glial activation in the Cln6nclf mouse model of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis : a beneficial effect of DHA and Curcumin supplementation T2 - PLoS One N2 - Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) is a group of neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders characterized by vision loss, mental and motor deficits, and spontaneous seizures. Neuropathological analyses of autopsy material from NCL patients and animal models revealed brain atrophy closely associated with glial activity. Earlier reports also noticed loss of retinal cells and reactive gliosis in some forms of NCL. To study this phenomenon in detail, we analyzed the ocular phenotype of CLN6nclf mice, an established mouse model for variant-late infantile NCL. Retinal morphometry, immunohistochemistry, optokinetic tracking, electroretinography, and mRNA expression were used to characterize retinal morphology and function as well as the responses of Müller cells and microglia. Our histological data showed a severe and progressive degeneration in the CLN6nclf retina co-inciding with reactive Müller glia. Furthermore, a prominent phenotypic transformation of ramified microglia to phagocytic, bloated, and mislocalized microglial cells was identified in CLN6nclf retinas. These events overlapped with a rapid loss of visual perception and retinal function. Based on the strong microglia reactivity we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with immuno-regulatory compounds, curcumin and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), could ameliorate microgliosis and reduce retinal degeneration. Our analyses showed that treatment of three-week-old CLN6nclf mice with either 5% DHA or 0.6% curcumin for 30 weeks resulted in a reduced number of amoeboid reactive microglia and partially improved retinal function. DHA-treatment also improved the morphology of CLN6nclf retinas with a preserved thickness of the photoreceptor layer in most regions of the retina. Our results suggest that microglial reactivity closely accompanies disease progression in the CLN6nclf retina and both processes can be attenuated with dietary supplemented immuno-modulating compounds. Y1 - 2013 UR - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/31783 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-317831 SN - 1932-6203 N1 - Copyright: © 2013 Mirza et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. VL - 8 IS - (10):e75963 PB - PLoS CY - Lawrence, Kan. ER -