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Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health

Lipids serve many roles in the neural system, from synaptic stabilization and signaling to DNA regulation and neuroprotection. They also regulate inflammatory responses, maintain cellular membrane structure, and regulate the homeostatic balance of ions and signaling molecules. An imbalance of lipid...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nwagbo, Uzoamaka, Bernstein, Paul S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10383069/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37513514
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15143096
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author Nwagbo, Uzoamaka
Bernstein, Paul S.
author_facet Nwagbo, Uzoamaka
Bernstein, Paul S.
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description Lipids serve many roles in the neural system, from synaptic stabilization and signaling to DNA regulation and neuroprotection. They also regulate inflammatory responses, maintain cellular membrane structure, and regulate the homeostatic balance of ions and signaling molecules. An imbalance of lipid subgroups is implicated in the progression of many retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa, and diabetic retinopathy, and diet can play a key role in influencing these diseases’ onset, progression, and severity. A special class of lipids termed very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) is found exclusively in mammalian vertebrate retinas and a few other tissues. They comprise <2% of fatty acids in the retina and are depleted in the retinas of patients with diseases like diabetic retinopathy and AMD. However, the implications of the reduction in VLC-PUFA levels are poorly understood. Dietary supplementation studies and ELOVL4 transgene studies have had positive outcomes. However, much remains to be understood about their role in retinal health and the potential for targeted therapies against retinal disease.
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spelling pubmed-103830692023-07-30 Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health Nwagbo, Uzoamaka Bernstein, Paul S. Nutrients Review Lipids serve many roles in the neural system, from synaptic stabilization and signaling to DNA regulation and neuroprotection. They also regulate inflammatory responses, maintain cellular membrane structure, and regulate the homeostatic balance of ions and signaling molecules. An imbalance of lipid subgroups is implicated in the progression of many retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa, and diabetic retinopathy, and diet can play a key role in influencing these diseases’ onset, progression, and severity. A special class of lipids termed very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) is found exclusively in mammalian vertebrate retinas and a few other tissues. They comprise <2% of fatty acids in the retina and are depleted in the retinas of patients with diseases like diabetic retinopathy and AMD. However, the implications of the reduction in VLC-PUFA levels are poorly understood. Dietary supplementation studies and ELOVL4 transgene studies have had positive outcomes. However, much remains to be understood about their role in retinal health and the potential for targeted therapies against retinal disease. MDPI 2023-07-10 /pmc/articles/PMC10383069/ /pubmed/37513514 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15143096 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Nwagbo, Uzoamaka
Bernstein, Paul S.
Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title_full Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title_fullStr Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title_full_unstemmed Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title_short Understanding the Roles of Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (VLC-PUFAs) in Eye Health
title_sort understanding the roles of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (vlc-pufas) in eye health
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10383069/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37513514
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu15143096
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