Neurobiology
Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) protects retinal cone and rod photoreceptors by suppressing excessive formation of the visual pigments
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-dependent visual cycle provides 11-cis-retinal to opsins in the photoreceptor outer segments to generate functional visual pigments that initiate phototransduction in response to light stimuli. Both RPE65 isomerase of the visual cycle and the rhodopsin visual pigment have recently been identified as critical players in mediating light-induced retinal degeneration. These findings suggest that the expression and function of RPE65 and rhodopsin need to be coordinately controlled to sustain normal vision and to protect the retina from photodamage.Defining a mechanistic link between pigment epithelium–derived factor, docosahexaenoic acid, and corneal nerve regeneration
The cornea is densely innervated to sustain the integrity of the ocular surface. Corneal nerve damage produced by aging, diabetes, refractive surgeries, and viral or bacterial infections impairs tear production, the blinking reflex, and epithelial wound healing, resulting in loss of transparency and vision. A combination of the known neuroprotective molecule, pigment epithelium–derived factor (PEDF) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), has been shown to stimulate corneal nerve regeneration, but the mechanisms involved are unclear.Molecular mechanisms of signaling via the docosanoid neuroprotectin D1 for cellular homeostasis and neuroprotection
Docosahexaenoic acid, enriched in the brain and retina, generates docosanoids in response to disruptions of cellular homeostasis. Docosanoids include neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), which is decreased in the CA1 hippocampal area of patients with early-stage Alzheimer's disease (AD). We summarize here how NPD1 elicits neuroprotection by up-regulating c-REL, a nuclear factor (NF)-κB subtype that, in turn, enhances expression of BIRC3 (baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat-containing protein 3) in the retina and in experimental stroke, leading to neuroprotection.Thematic Minireview Series: Inflammatory transcription confronts homeostatic disruptions
In this Thematic Minireview Series, three stimulating articles are presented: one on long non-coding RNAs, another on the ligand-activated transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor, and the third on how docosanoids modulate transcriptionally modulated homeostasis and ultimately cell survival in the retina and brain.
