Basal laminar deposit formation in APO B100 transgenic mice: complex interactions between dietary fat, blue light, and vitamin E.

Purpose: Dietary fat intake has been proposed as a mechanism of sub-RPE deposit formation. It has been demonstrated recently that sub-RPE deposits develop in 16- to 18-month-old C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet and exposed to blue-green light. Hyperlipidemia also develops in these mice after they consume a high-fat diet.

The role of aging, high fat diet and blue light exposure in an experimental mouse model for basal laminar deposit formation.

We sought to investigate the role of aging as a susceptibility factor for the capacity of dietary fat intake to increase the development of subretinal deposits. Mice of various ages (2, 9 and 16 months) were fed a normal diet or a diet high in saturated and unsaturated fats for a total four and a half months. Some eyes were also exposed to non-phototoxic levels of blue-green light.