A2E, a byproduct of the visual cycle
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Integrating Visual Psychophysical Assays within a Y-Maze to Isolate the Role that Visual Features Play in Navigational Decisions
Published on: May 2, 2019
Janet R Sparrow1, Nathan Fishkin, Jilin Zhou
1Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University, 630 W. 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA. jrs88@columbia.edu
Abstract:
A substantial portion of the lipofuscin that accumulates with age and in some retinal disorders in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, forms as a consequence of light-related vitamin A recycling. Major constituents of RPE lipofuscin are the di-retinal conjugate A2E and its photoisomers. That the accretion of A2E has consequences for the cell, with the adverse effects of A2E being attributable to its amphiphilic structure and its photoreactivity, is consistent with evidence of an association between atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and excessive lipofuscin accumulation.
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