摘要Progressive photoreceptor cell death is one of the main pathological features of age-related macular degeneration and eventually leads to vision loss.Ferroptosis has been demonstrated to be associated with retinal degenerative diseases.However,the molecular mechanisms underlying ferroptosis and photoreceptor cell death in age-related macular degeneration remain largely unexplored.Bioinformatics and biochemical analyses in this study revealed xC solute carrier family 7 member 11-regulated ferroptosis as the predominant pathological process of photoreceptor cell degeneration in a light-induced dry age-related macular degeneration mouse model.This process involves the nuclear factor-erythroid factor 2-related factor 2-solute carrier family 7 member 11-glutathione peroxidase 4 signaling pathway,through which cystine depletion,iron ion accumulation,and enhanced lipid peroxidation ultimately lead to photoreceptor cell death and subsequent visual function impairment.We demonstrated that solute carrier family 7 member 11 overexpression blocked this process by inhibiting oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo.Conversely,solute carrier family 7 member 11 knockdown or the solute carrier family 7 member 11 inhibitor sulfasalazine and ferroptosis-inducing agent erastin aggravated H2O2-induced ferroptosis of 661W cells.These findings indicate solute carrier family 7 member 11 may be a potential therapeutic target for patients with retinal degenerative diseases including age-related macular degeneration.