Stimulation of AMPK prevents degeneration of photoreceptors and the retinal pigment epithelium

Significance In this paper, we show that stimulation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by metformin is able to protect photoreceptors and the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) in three different mouse models of retinal degeneration, including acute bright light damage, Pde6b rd10 inherited retinitis pigmentosa, and sodium iodate-induced RPE injury. The study suggests that activators of AMPK can have broad-spectrum...