Because we detected increased expression of the non-apoptotic cell death markers PAR, Calpain-2 and Survivin, but not of the pro-apoptotic Bax, cleaved Caspase 3 and cleaved PARP-1 and the pro-necroptotic MLKL markers, our data suggest that the slow retinal degeneration observed in aging C57BL/6J Nr2e3rd7/rd7 retinas is driven by non-apoptotic cell death pathways, similar to what is observed in a vast majority of analyzed murine hereditary retinal degeneration models33. This evidence concerns the gene BIRC5 and retinal degeneration.