Identification of an Alternative Splicing Product of the Otx2 Gene Expressed in the Neural Retina and Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells.

To investigate the complexity of alternative splicing in the retina, we sequenced and analyzed a total of 115,706 clones from normalized cDNA libraries from mouse neural retina (66,217) and rat retinal pigmented epithelium (49,489). Based upon clustering the cDNAs and mapping them with their respective genomes, the estimated numbers of genes were 9,134 for the mouse neural retina and 12,050 for the rat retinal pigmented epithelium libraries. This unique collection of retinal of messenger RNAs is maintained and accessible through a web-base server to the whole community of retinal biologists for further functional characterization.

Threshold levels of visual field and acuity loss related to significant decreases in the quality of life and emotional states of patients with retinitis pigmentosa.

Introduction: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal disorder, characterized by photoreceptor degeneration inducing progressive vision loss. This study evaluates its impact on quality of life (QOL) and emotional states of patients affected by RP.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 RP patients diagnosed with rod-cone dystrophy and on 20 control subjects.

Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor-2 is a novel bifunctional-thioredoxin-like protein with therapeutic potential.

Background: Cone degeneration is the hallmark of the inherited retinal disease retinitis pigmentosa. We have previously identified a trophic factor "Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor (RdCVF) that is secreted by rods and promote cone viability in a mouse model of the disease.

Results: Here we report the bioinformatic identification and the experimental analysis of RdCVF2, a second trophic factor belonging to the Rod-derived Cone Viability Factor family.