| Experiment Id | GSE219252 | Name | Bulk RNA-seq of eyes isolated from wildtype and Stra6 knockout mice maintained on either a vitamin A sufficient or deficient diet |
| Experiment Type | RNA-Seq | Study Type | WT vs. Mutant |
| Source | GEO | Curation Date | 2023-08-25 |
| description | Vitamin A deficiency is detrimental to the visual system throughout the lifecycle. Abundant expression of the retinoid transporter STRA6 in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and homeostatic blood levels of retinol binding protein ensure the eyes are adequately supplied with the nutrient. STRA6 deficiency interrupts the supply pathway, but vitamin A in chylomicrons compensates for its failure. However, dependency on the chylomicron delivery pathway makes the eyes of STRA6-deficient mice vulnerable to dietary vitamin A deprivation. How the eyes adapt to vitamin A status has not been studied in molecular detail, and therefore we used RNA-seq to focus on diet-induced changes. We observed that mild ocular vitamin A deficiency was linked to an increase in transcript abundance levels of genes coding for proteins of stress pathways and a decrease in levels of transcripts coding for proteins of pathways of visual sensitivity and perception. These changes correlate with a loss of visual sensitivity and accumulation of fluorescent debris in the retina. Additionally, severe vitamin A deficiency decreased the transcript levels of genes involved in cell adhesion, cell differentiation, and transport of small molecules pathways. This response correlated with alterations in epithelial cell morphology and a "leaky" RPE barrier. Together, our analyses of STRA6-deficient mice define adaptive responses associated with ocular vitamin A status and reveal a previously unknown role of STRA6 in the maintenance and functioning of the outer blood-retina barrier. Bulk RNA-Seq experiments were carried out using the RPE-choroid tissue isolated from wildtype and Stra6 knockout mice fed a vitamin A sufficient or deficient diet for 12 weeks. Five biological replicates were analyzed for each of four conditions (two genotypes; two diets per genotype). The wildtype, vitamin A sufficient samples were used as the control group. |
