Protective effect of autophagy on human retinal pigment epithelial cells against lipofuscin fluorophore A2E: implications for age-related macular degeneration.

ABSTRACT: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of central vision loss in the elderly. Degeneration of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells is a crucial causative factor responsible for the onset and progression of AMD. A2E, a major component of toxic lipofuscin implicated in AMD, is deposited in RPE cells with age. However, the mechanism whereby A2E may contribute to the pathogenesis of AMD remains unclear. We demonstrated that A2E was a danger signal of RPE cells, which induced autophagy and decreased cell viability in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Within 15 min after the treatment of RPE with 25 μM A2E, the induction of autophagosome was detected by transmission electron microscopy. After continuous incubating RPE cells with A2E, intense punctate staining of

SUBMITTER: Zhang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4670934 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature