Cone phototransduction and survival of cones in the human macula is essential for color vision and for visual acuity. Progressive cone degeneration in age-related macular degeneration, Stargardt disease, and recessive cone dystrophies is a major cause of blindness. Thyroid hormone (TH) signaling, which regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, plays a central role in cone opsin expression and patterning in the retina. Here, we investigated whether TH signaling affects cone viability in inherited retinal degeneration mouse models. Retinol isomerase RPE65-deficient mice [a model of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) with rapid cone loss] and cone photoreceptor function loss type 1 mice (severe recessive achromatopsia) were used to determine whether suppressing TH signaling with antithyroid treatment reduces cone death. Further, cone cyclic nucleotide-gated channel B subunitdeficient mice (moderate achromatopsia) and guanylate cyclase 2e-deficient mice (LCA with slower cone loss) were used to determine whether triiodothyronine (T3) treatment (stimulating TH signaling) causes deterioration of cones. We found that cone density in retinol isomerase RPE65-deficient and cone photoreceptor function loss type 1 mice increased about sixfold following antithyroid treatment. Cone density in cone cyclic nucleotidegated channel B subunit-deficient and guanylate cyclase 2e-deficient mice decreased about 40% following T3 treatment. The effect of TH signaling on cone viability appears to be independent of its regulation on cone opsin expression. This work demonstrates that suppressing TH signaling in retina dystrophy mouse models is protective of cones, providing insights into cone preservation and therapeutic interventions.R od and cone photoreceptors degenerate under a variety of pathological conditions, including a wide array of hereditary retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and cone-rod dystrophies. Defects in a large number of genes are linked to inherited retinal degenerative disorders (www.sph. uth.tmc.edu/RetNet/disease.htm), including those encoding enzymes involved in the recycling of 11-cis retinal in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), retinoid isomerase (RPE65), and lecithin retinol acyltransferase (LRAT), and the phototransductionassociated proteins (opsins, subunits of transducin, cGMP phosphodiesterase PDE6, guanylate cyclase, and cyclic nucleotidegated channel). There are currently no treatments for human retinal dystrophies. Despite a high genetic heterogeneity, the degenerating photoreceptors show common cellular disorder features, including oxidative damage (1, 2), endoplasmic reticulum stress (3, 4), and apoptosis (5, 6).Thyroid hormone (TH) signaling regulates cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The role of TH signaling in retina regarding its regulation of cone opsin expression and patterning has been well documented (7,8). Most mammals possess dichromatic color vision that is mediated by two opsins with peak sensitivities to medium-long ...