Early Appearance of Aging Signs in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium in Young Albino Rats

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), whose main functions are to participate directly in light perception and ensure the trophic and functioning of the retina, is a traditional subject of numerous studies. A significant part of them is biomedical and is aimed at identifying the causes of aging and degeneration of RPE, which are, in turn, associated with several serious retinal diseases that lead to the loss of the eyesight. Rodents, in particular, the albino Wistar rats, are often used as the object of these studies. The work is aimed at identifying signs of aging in the RPE in young (from 2 weeks up to 2 months) albino rats. Using the methods of fluorescence analysis and Schmorl staining, the accumulation of the “aging pigment” lipofuscin in the isolated layer of RPE, as well as a high content of polyploid binuclear cells to mononuclear cells, were detected in albino rats of an early age. In parallel, the presence of lipofuscin was detected in the isolated vascular layer (choroid) of the retina that underlies RPE. The relationship between the early appearance of signs of aging in the RPE of albino rats and the absence of the melanin pigment in the cells of this tissue is discussed. The obtained data should be taken into account when conducting experimental ophthalmological studies on this animal model object.