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Lipid Droplet Dynamics: A Critical Line of Defense Against AMD?
The retina is home to light-sensitive photoreceptor cells, which are supported by a cell layer in the back of the eye called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The RPE gets its energy from lipids (fat), through a dynamic process of temporarily storing fat in spheres called lipid droplets (LDs) prior to using them for energy, then discarding unused lipids outside of the RPE.
This buildup of lipid “leftovers” is a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The processes of lipid handling and dysregulation have been linked to other syndromes as well, such as fatty liver disease. And research in other disease models has shown that enzymes involved in those processes are sensitive to existing therapies.
Yet more research is needed to better understand the lipid dynamics specific to the RPE.
John Han, Ph.D., is addressing this knowledge gap. A second-year post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Kellogg retina specialist Jason Miller, M.D., Ph.D., Dr. Han has received the BrightFocus Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Macular Degeneration Research, as well as the foundation’s 2024 Helen Juanita Reed Award
“We have so much to learn about how lipids are metabolized in the RPE,” he says. “Moreover, if we can manipulate lipid dynamics so that less toxic fat ends up pooling outside the RPE, that could lead to promising new therapies for AMD.”
