Study Finds Eye Cells Can Rewire to Compensate for Vision Loss

Scientists at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA found that certain retinal cells can rewire themselves as vision deteriorates in retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic eye disease causing progressive blindness. In a study using mouse models, researchers discovered that rod bipolar cells can form new connections with cones when their usual partners stop working. The study was published in Current Biology.

Why it matters: Retinitis pigmentosa is a leading cause of inherited blindness, affecting millions worldwide. Understanding how retinal circuits adapt to cell loss could lead to new treatments to preserve vision.

What the study did: Researchers studied rhodopsin knockout mice to observe how rod bipolar cells behaved when their normal input was lost. They found that these cells formed new connections with cone cells, showing rewired responses driven by cones instead of rods.

What they found: The rewiring process was triggered by rod degeneration, indicating that cellular rewiring is a response to the degeneration process itself. This adaptation mechanism helps maintain retinal function as the disease progresses.

From the experts: Senior author A.P. Sampath noted, \"Our findings show that the retina adapts to the loss of rods by rewiring to preserve daytime light sensitivity. This plasticity is triggered by degeneration itself, possibly through factors released by dying cells.\"

What's next: The research team is investigating whether this rewiring is a general mechanism used by the retina when rods die, using mutant mice with mutations known to cause retinitis pigmentosa in humans.

About the study: Published in Current Biology (2025), the study titled \"Photoreceptor degeneration induces homeostatic rewiring of rod bipolar cells\" can be accessed here.

About the Research Team: The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology, Stein Eye Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, including Paul J. Bonezzi, Rikard Frederiksen, Annabelle N. Tran, Kyle Kim, Gordon L. Fain, and Alapakkam P. Sampath.

Funding and Disclosures: The work was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health USA and Research to Prevent Blindness. The authors have no disclosures.