Genetic tuning of β-carotene oxygenase-1 activity rescues cone photoreceptor function in STRA6-deficient mice.

ABSTRACT: Rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina mediate dim light and daylight vision, respectively. Despite their distinctive functions, rod and cone visual pigments utilize the same vitamin A-derived chromophore. To sustain vision, vitamin A precursors must be acquired in the gut, metabolized, and distributed to the eyes. Deficiencies in this pathway in inherited ocular disease states deplete cone photoreceptors from chromophore and eventually lead to cell death, whereas the more abundant rod photoreceptors are less affected. However, pathways that support cone function and survival under such conditions are largely unknown. Using biochemical, histological, and physiological approaches, we herein show that intervention with β-carotene in STRA6-deficient mice improved chromophore supply to cone

SUBMITTER: Moon J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9941828 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature