A Golden Age
Could the ELOVL2 gene be the key to new therapeutics for age-related eye diseases?
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have been working to establish whether a known biomarker of age, ELOVL2, has a central role in the aging process of mouse retinas. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, Assistant Professor in the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute, says, “We believe our work is presenting a previously unknown molecular connection between aging and age-related eye conditions, such as AMD.
The high demand for lipids and lipid membranes in photoreceptors allowed us to detect aging phenotypes in the eye and connect them to a particular gene – ELOVL2 – [which encodes a] key enzyme involved in lipid metabolism, previously described as one of the best biomarkers of aging.” The team is currently working on potential strategies to help translate their findings into the clinic.
- D Chen et al., Aging Cell, 2 (2020). PMID: 31943697.
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