Effects of Short-Wavelength Light on Retinal Cell Development

Changes in the light environment exert a profound impact on vision; however, the specific mechanisms underlying their effects on retinal development remain poorly understood. In this study, we exposed mice to short-wavelength light from eye opening and performed single-cell RNA sequencing on their retinas two weeks later. Our results revealed that short-wavelength light significantly perturbs retinal cell development in mice, with the most pronounced differential impact observed on amacrine cells. Overall design: Mice were exposed to either short-wavelength light or full-spectrum white light starting from postnatal day 14 (P14). After two weeks of exposure, retinal tissues were collected for single-cell RNA sequencing. Subsequent analyses included identification of differentially expressed genes, functional clustering, ligand-receptor interaction analysis, and RNA velocity assessment.