Quantitative Proteomics of Human Retinal Pigment Epithelium Reveals Key Regulators for the Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Feb 7;24(4):3252. doi: 10.3390/ijms24043252. ABSTRACT Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in elderly people, with limited treatment options available for most patients. AMD involves the death of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and photoreceptor cells, with mitochondria dysfunction being a critical early event. In the current study, […]

Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Pathogenesis Underlying Inherited Retinal Dystrophies

Biomolecules. 2023 Feb 1;13(2):271. doi: 10.3390/biom13020271. ABSTRACT Inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) are congenital retinal degenerative diseases that have various inheritance patterns, including dominant, recessive, X-linked, and mitochondrial. These diseases are most often the result of defects in rod and/or cone photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelium function, development, or both. The genes associated with these diseases, […]

Mitochondria-Targeted Curcumin: A Potent Antibacterial Agent against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus with a Possible Intracellular ROS Accumulation as the Mechanism of Action

Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 Feb 16;12(2):401. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12020401. ABSTRACT Mitocurcumin (a triphenylphosphonium curcumin derivative) was previously reported as a selective antitumoral compound on different cellular lines, as well as a potent bactericidal candidate. In this study, the same compound showed strong antimicrobial efficacy against different strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The minimum inhibitory concentration was […]

Mitochondrial Open Reading Frame of the 12S rRNA Type-c: Potential Therapeutic Candidate in Retinal Diseases

Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Feb 18;12(2):518. doi: 10.3390/antiox12020518. ABSTRACT Mitochondrial open reading frame of the 12S rRNA type-c (MOTS-c) is the most unearthed peptide encoded by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). It is an important regulator of the nuclear genome during times of stress because it promotes an adaptive stress response to maintain cellular homeostasis. Identifying MOTS-c specific […]

The Anti-Aging Hormone Klotho Promotes Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell Viability and Metabolism by Activating the AMPK/PGC-1α Pathway

Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Feb 5;12(2):385. doi: 10.3390/antiox12020385. ABSTRACT Initially discovered by Makuto Kuro-o in 1997, Klotho is a putative aging-suppressor gene when overexpressed and accelerates aging when deleted in mice. Previously, we showed that α-Klotho regulates retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) functions and protects against oxidative stress. However, the mechanisms by which Klotho influences RPE and […]

TRAP1 Is Expressed in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells and Is Required to Maintain their Energetic Status

Antioxidants (Basel). 2023 Feb 4;12(2):381. doi: 10.3390/antiox12020381. ABSTRACT Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss and blindness in elderly people worldwide. The damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) triggered by oxidative stress plays a central role in the onset and progression of AMD and results from the excessive accumulation […]

FDX1-dependent and independent mechanisms of elesclomol-mediated intracellular copper delivery

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Mar 7;120(10):e2216722120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2216722120. Epub 2023 Feb 27. ABSTRACT Recent studies have uncovered the therapeutic potential of elesclomol (ES), a copper-ionophore, for copper deficiency disorders. However, we currently do not understand the mechanism by which copper brought into cells as ES-Cu(II) is released and delivered to cuproenzymes […]

Short communication: unique metabolic signature of proliferative retinopathy in the tear fluid of diabetic patients with comorbidities – preliminary data for PPPM validation

EPMA J. 2023 Feb 22;14(1):1-9. doi: 10.1007/s13167-023-00318-4. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) defined as the adult-onset type that is primarily not insulin-dependent, comprises over 95% of all diabetes mellitus (DM) cases. According to global records, 537 million adults aged 20-79 years are affected by DM that means at least 1 out […]