# Sex-Dependent Regulation of Retinal Degeneration

> **NIH NIH F32** · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · 2021 · $9,079

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Retinal detachment (RD), caused by injury or retinal disorders (e.g. age-related macular degeneration and
diabetic retinopathy), is a leading cause of retinal degeneration and vision loss. Photoreceptor cell death in RD
occurs due to physical separation of photoreceptors from the retinal pigment epithelium and choroid, which
results in acute ischemia. Photoreceptors are energetically demanding, and are therefore highly susceptible to
ischemia, rapidly developing mitochondrial dysfunction and degenerating in RD.
Our exciting preliminary data has demonstrated that female mice are protected from RD-induced photoreceptor
cell death, and that the female sex hormone estrogen may mediate this effect by supporting mitochondrial
function under ischemic conditions. The central hypothesis of this application is that females are protected from
RD-induced retinal degeneration through the actions of estrogen-dependent normalization and/or rescue of
photoreceptor mitochondrial dysfunction. We will refute or validate this hypothesis through two interrelated but
independent specific aims. Aim 1 is to determine which female sex hormone(s) are operative in RD sexual
dimorphism, and to assess the role of systemic versus localized estrogen in neuroprotection from RD. Aim 2 is
to elucidate the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in RD, and to determine if estrogen-mediated mitoprotection
is operative in neuroprotection from RD.
This study will yield new insights into the role of estrogen in retinal neuroprotection and identify new
therapeutic targets for the clinical management of sight-threatening diseases such as RD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10141068
- **Project number:** 5F32EY029962-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Pearsall
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $9,079
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-12-01 → 2021-01-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10141068

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10141068, Sex-Dependent Regulation of Retinal Degeneration (5F32EY029962-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10141068. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*