The death of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in several retinal disorders including Stargardt's disease and atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD), precedes the degeneration of photoreceptor cells and the impairment of vision. Nevertheless, the cause of RPE cell atrophy is poorly understood. A major focus of work in the laboratory involves studies of a causal link between the intracellular accumulation of aging pigments (lipofuscin) in the RPE and the death of those cells. Evidence indicates that the fluorophores of RPE lipofuscin may originate in large part as byproducts of the retinoid visual cycle. We are working to identify and characterize these fluorophores. We are also investigating the cellular sites and mechanisms involved the biosynthesis of these compounds, factors modulating the formation of these fluorophores and the impact of their accumulation on the RPE cell.
Staff
Associate Research Scientist: Jilin Zhou, M.D.
Senior Staff Associate:
Li Wu, M.D.
Postdoctoral Research Scientist: So Ra Kim, Ph.D.
Emiko Yanase, Ph.D.
