Strategies to Slow the Onset of Blindness in Retinitis Pigmentosa

Air date: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 3:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Category: Wednesday Afternoon Lectures
Description: The disease, retinitis pigmentosa (RP), is a blinding illness with genetic etiology. Many different RP genes are expressed in rod photoreceptors exclusively. These are the retinal photoreceptors used for dim light perception, or night vision. Individuals born with these mutations have poor, or no, night vision, but typically have normal daylight and color vision. The rods often deteriorate and die, leading to a complete loss of night vision. Subsequently, the cones, which mediate daylight and color vision, also die, over a period of years, leading to a complete loss of all vision.

We are interested in learning how to stop the progression of RP. To this end, we have investigated the causes of cone death using microarrays and 4 mouse models of RP, looking for changes that are in common across all 4 models at the onset of cone death. Genes that are involved in metabolism were those with the most frequently observed changes. These observations were followed up through several independent assays. The results suggest that cones are starving, potentially leading to their malfunction and death. In addition, we examined the activity of histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) in promoting rod survival. When overexpressed in rods, HDAC4 significantly prolonged rod survival, and indirectly, cone survival. This activity required the activity of hypoxia inducible factor 1alpha.

The NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series includes weekly scientific talks by some of the top researchers in the biomedical sciences worldwide.
Author: Dr. Connie Cepko
Runtime: 01:01:49
Permanent link: http://videocast.nih.gov/launch.asp?16149

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