BIOL 72 |
| Age related macular degeneration is characterized by the accumulation of auto-fluorescent granules called lipofuscin in the retinal pigment epithelium. A major fluorescent component is A2E, a bis-retinoid pyridinium, formed from the condensation of all-trans-retinal (RAL) with ethanolamine. Lipofuscin accumulation occurs more rapidly in the first decade of life and is attributed to dysfunction of ABCR, a protein crucial to RAL transport. Disruption of this transfer results in the formation of an imine, PE-HIDD, and ultimately A2E. The major hypothesis of this study is that photochemical reduction of PE-HIDD, resulting from a window of transmission at 320 nm in the young lens, causes rapid accumulation of lipofuscin. In order to investigate this mechanism, the photochemical and chemical reduction of HIDD was investigated. The reduction also leads to the formation of compound with m/z = 550 which is found in human lipofuscin extracts. These studies have important implications for the young retina. |
|
Frontiers in Chemical Biology
5:00 PM-7:00 PM, Sunday, August 19, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster
Division of Biological Chemistry |