Mitigation of Blue Light (BL)-Induced Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) Cell Damage: Modelling Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Disease.

AMD is a major cause of blindness in the elderly population, and BL exposure is proposed as a risk factor for the disease progression. We observed that BL exposure to RPE cells increased their oxidative stress that triggered a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and subsequent RPE cell death (mainly by apoptosis). By using BL-filtering intraocular lenses (BL-IOLs) or antioxidant drug (N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)) we inhibited the deleterious effects of BL. This study unravels the molecular mechanisms underlying BL effects on RPE cells (see model). It also highlights that the use of BL-filtering devices and antioxidants are strategies to reduce the BL harmful effects on RPE cells and to delay the progression of AMD.