Abstract |
Retinal long-chain PUFAs (LC-PUFAs, C(12)-C(22)) play important roles in normal human retinal function and visual development, and some epidemiological studies of LC-PUFA intake suggest a protective role against the incidence of advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). On the other hand, retinal very long-chain PUFAs (VLC-PUFAs, C(n>22)) have received much less attention since their identification decades ago, due to their minor abundance and more difficult assays, but recent discoveries that defects in VLC-PUFA synthetic enzymes are associated with rare forms of inherited macular degenerations have refocused attention on their potential roles in retinal health and disease. We thus developed improved GC-MS methods to detect LC-PUFAs and VLC-PUFAs, and we then applied them to the study of their changes in ocular aging and AMD. With ocular aging, some VLC-PUFAs in retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid peaked in middle age. Compared with age-matched normal donors, docosahexaenoic acid, adrenic acid, and some VLC-PUFAs in AMD retina and RPE/choroid were significantly decreased, whereas the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFAs was significantly increased. All these findings suggest that deficiency of LC-PUFAs and VLC-PUFAs, and/or an imbalance of n-6/n-3 PUFAs, may be involved in AMD pathology.
|
Authors | Aihua Liu, James Chang, Yanhua Lin, Zhengqing Shen, Paul S Bernstein |
Journal | Journal of lipid research
(J Lipid Res)
Vol. 51
Issue 11
Pg. 3217-29
(Nov 2010)
ISSN: 1539-7262 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 20688753
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
|
Chemical References |
|
Topics |
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Aged
- Aged, 80 and over
- Aging
(metabolism)
- Child
- Choroid
(metabolism)
- Eye
(metabolism, physiopathology)
- Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
(chemistry, isolation & purification, metabolism)
- Female
- Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
- Humans
- Macular Degeneration
(metabolism)
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Retinal Pigment Epithelium
(metabolism)
- Young Adult
|