Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2032-3576

Date Available

5-10-2023

Year of Publication

2023

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Document Type

Master's Thesis

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Biology

First Advisor

Dr. Ann C. Morris

Abstract

Diabetes is a disease that affects how the body processes glucose, leading to a cascade of other complications, one of which is diabetic retinopathy (DR). DR is a neurovascular disease that affects the retina and research has revealed the role of retinal neurodegeneration in its development. Animal models like zebrafish have emerged as important tools for studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying DR. On the other hand, retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a degenerative disease that involves the progressive degeneration of rods and cones, and hyperglycemia has been found to impair regeneration. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effects of acute and chronic hyperglycemia on the retina and retinal degeneration, utilizing zebrafish as a model organism. Chapter 1 of this thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the zebrafish retina and the impact of chronic, acute, and embryonic hyperglycemia on retinal tissue. In Chapter 2, a hyperglycemic rod-degeneration model was employed to assess the effects of chronic hyperglycemia on regeneration, with cell proliferation as the primary marker. The Appendix discusses a significant part of my thesis that involved using an acute hyperglycemic model to study rod degeneration.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2023.197

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