Autophagy Activation Promoted by Pulses of Light and Phytochemicals Counteracting Oxidative Stress during Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

ABSTRACT: The seminal role of autophagy during age-related macular degeneration (AMD) lies in the clearance of a number of reactive oxidative species that generate dysfunctional mitochondria. In fact, reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the retina generate misfolded proteins, alter lipids and sugars composition, disrupt DNA integrity, damage cell organelles and produce retinal inclusions while causing AMD. This explains why autophagy in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), mostly at the macular level, is essential in AMD and even in baseline conditions to provide a powerful and fast replacement of oxidized molecules and ROS-damaged mitochondria. When autophagy is impaired within RPE, the deleterious effects of ROS, which are produced in excess also during baseline conditions, are no longer counteracte

SUBMITTER: Pinelli R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10295222 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature