A novel quantification method for retinal pigment epithelium phagocytosis using a very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids-based strategy.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The vertebrate retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) lies adjacent to the photoreceptors and is responsible for the engulfment and degradation of shed photoreceptor outer segment fragments (POS) through receptor-mediated phagocytosis. Phagocytosis of POS is critical for maintaining photoreceptor function and is a key indicator of RPE functionality. Popular established methods to assess RPE phagocytosis rely mainly on quantifying POS proteins, especially their most abundant protein rhodopsin, or on fluorescent dye conjugation of bulk, unspecified POS components. While these approaches are practical and quantitative, they fail to assess the fate of POS lipids, which make up about 50% of POS by dry weight and whose processing is essential for life-long functionality of RPE and

SUBMITTER: Gao F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10622967 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature