Morphological study of the retina of WAG/Rij rats with pigmentary degeneration in postnatal ontogenesis

The aim of the study was to detect morphofunctional features of the retina of WAG/Rij rats during postnatal development from the 1st to the 360th day after birth. Material and methods. The study included retina of the inbred WAG/Rij rats (60 eyeballs from 30 rats totally) from the 1st to the 360th day of life. Standard histological studies were performed on paraffin sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Immunohistochemical method was used to determine the expression of acidic glial fibrillar protein GFAP in the rat retina. Mouse monoclonal antibodies (Santa Cruz Biotechnology) and a universal secondary detection system (NovocastraTM) were used for imaging. The degree of protein expression in the retina of WAG/Rij rats was compared in different age groups. Results. It was found that after birth, the retina of rat models of the WAG/Rij line is formed in the same way as the retina of rats of other strains and acquires a definitive structure only by the end of the second week (correlates with the opening of the eyes). On the 20th day, the first signs of dystrophic and destructive processes appear in the retina of WAG / Rij rats progressing as they grow older and leading to retinal gliosis. The increase in the expression of acidic glial fibrillar protein GFAP begins from the 30th day and increases with age as destructive processes in the retina increase. Conclusion. The early postnatal development of the retina of the WAG/Rij rats, which correlates in character with the postnatal retina development of rats of other strains, is interrupted by the launch of destructive processes in the retina soon after its complete differentiation. The further intensifying cascade of degeneration over time leads to the death of retinal neurons and their replacement by glial cells.