The Circadian Clock in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium Controls the Diurnal Rhythm of Phagocytic Activity.

ABSTRACT: The diurnal peak of phagocytosis by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of photoreceptor outer segments (POS) is under circadian control and believed that this process involves interactions from the retina and RPE. Previous studies have demonstrated that a functional circadian clock exists within multiple retinal cell types and RPE. Thereby, the aim of this study was to determine whether the clock in the retina or RPE controls the diurnal phagocytic peak and whether disruption of the circadian clock in the RPE would affect cellular function and the viability during aging. To that, we generated and validated an RPE tissue-specific KO of the essential clock gene, Bmal1, and then determined the daily rhythm in phagocytic activity by the RPE in mice lacking a functional circadian clock

SUBMITTER: DeVera C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9141420 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature