# The RPE and Recovery of the Blood Retina Barrier

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $486,006

## Abstract

Summary:
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is the major barrier between the outer neural retina and the choroid,
forming part of the blood retina barrier (BRB). Damage to the RPE cell and to the organization of the RPE
sheet impairs the BRB, as seen in AMD, uveitis, retinal degenerations, and retinal detachment. Additionally,
damage to the RPE can occur following subretinal surgery or subretinal injections. Extensive work by others
with non-ocular epithelial monolayers indicates that such tissues respond to stress and restore their structure
and function through a small number of protective mechanisms. Our preliminary experimental observations
suggest that the RPE similarly responds to damage or disease, restoring the BRB via definable protective
mechanisms. From these observations, we hypothesize: a) There are a limited number of responses that the
RPE takes to restore the BRB; b) Each kind of response results in a unique pattern of RPE cell death; c) Each
response type differs, thus modeling BRB repair must be flexible (Fig 1).
For these reasons, we propose here to test for specific mechanisms that the RPE uses to respond to insult and
to restore the BRB following chronic mild, moderate, and severe injury. While restoration of barrier functions
has been investigated in Drosophila wings, lung alveoli, and throughout embryology, it has not been studied in
the RPE sheet. Most research on epithelial monolayers, whether in RPE or in non-ocular tissue, uses 2-
dimensional (2D) static or time-lapse motion photomicroscopy to study damage responses. In this project, we
adapt clever software and mathematical tools from outside vision research that use quantitative spatiotemporal
(4D: 3D in space & 1D in Time) dynamics to explore the damage responses of individual RPE cells and of the
RPE sheet.
Significance: Completion of these Aims will increase our understanding of spatiotemporal dynamics and
biomechanics of repair of the BRB after short- or long-term, low- to high-level toxic insults to RPE cells. This
new understanding of mechanisms will allow us to correct the loss of essential barrier function in blinding
diseases by initiating early and inexpensive interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9942408
- **Project number:** 5R01EY028450-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JEFFREY H BOATRIGHT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $486,006
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9942408

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9942408, The RPE and Recovery of the Blood Retina Barrier (5R01EY028450-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9942408. Licensed CC0.

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