A high-fat diet (HFD) can induce hyperglycemia and metabolic syndromes that, in turn, can trigger visual impairment. To evaluate the acute effects of HFD feeding on retinal degeneration, we assessed retinal function and morphology, inflammatory state, oxidative stress, and gut microbiome in dystrophic retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mice, a model of retinitis pigmentosa, fed an HFD for 2 to 3 wk. Short-term HFD feeding impaired retinal responsiveness and visual acuity and enhanced photoreceptor degeneration, microglial cell activation, and Müller cell gliosis. HFD consumption also triggered the expression of inflammatory and oxidative markers in rd10 retinas. Finally, an HFD caused gut microbiome dysbiosis, increasing the abundance of potentially proinflammatory bacteria. Thus, HFD feeding drives the pathological processes of retinal degeneration by promoting oxidative stress and activating inflammatory-related pathways. Our findings suggest that consumption of an HFD could accelerate the progression of the disease in patients with retinal degenerative disorders.

高脂肪饮食 (HFD) 可诱发高血糖症和代谢综合征，进而引发视力障碍。为了评估 HFD 喂养对视网膜变性的急性影响，我们评估了营养不良性视网膜变性 10 (rd10) 小鼠的视网膜功能和形态、炎症状态、氧化应激和肠道微生物组，这是一种色素性视网膜炎模型，喂食 HFD 2 到3 周。短期 HFD 喂养会损害视网膜反应能力和视力，并增强感光器变性、小胶质细胞活化和 Müller 细胞胶质增生。HFD 消耗还触发了 rd10 视网膜中炎症和氧化标志物的表达。最后，HFD 导致肠道微生物群失调，增加了潜在的促炎细菌的数量。因此，HFD 喂养通过促进氧化应激和激活炎症相关通路来驱动视网膜变性的病理过程。我们的研究结果表明，食用 HFD 可以加速视网膜退行性疾病患者的疾病进展。