A new study has identified a link implicating problems with cholesterol metabolism with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The findings – identified using human plasma samples and mouse models of macular degeneration – suggest that increasing the amount of a molecule called apolipoprotein M (ApoM) in the blood fixes problems in cholesterol processing that lead to cellular damage in the eyes and other organs.
The study, published in Nature Communications,1 suggests various methods of “dialling up” ApoM could serve as new treatment strategies for AMD and perhaps some forms of heart failure triggered by similar dysfunctional cholesterol processing.
“Our study points to a possible way to address a major unmet clinical need,” said senior author Professor Rajendra Apte, from Washington University (WashU) in Missouri in the United States.
“Current therapies that reduce the chance of further vision loss are limited to only the most advanced stages of macular degeneration and do not reverse the disease.
“Our findings suggest that developing treatments that increase ApoM levels could treat or even prevent the disease and therefore preserve people’s vision as they age.”
IMPROVED RETINAL HEALTH IN MOUSE MODELS
The research suggests that when ApoM is low, cells in the retina and heart muscle can’t correctly metabolise cholesterol deposits and have a hard time getting rid of accumulating lipids. Lipid build up leads to inflammation and cellular damage.
In mouse models of macular degeneration, mice with increased ApoM showed evidence of improved retinal health, improved function of light-sensing cells in the retina, and reduced accumulation of cholesterol deposits.
The findings also could have implications for future interventions that raise ApoM in patients with heart failure.
“One of the exciting things about this collaboration is realising the links between retinal pigment epithelial cells and heart muscle cells, which are both vulnerable to low ApoM,” co-senior author Assistant Professor Ali Javeheri said.
Prof Apte and Ass Prof Javeheri are working with Mobius Scientific, a WashU startup company, to harness this knowledge of the role of ApoM in AMD to develop new approaches to treating or preventing the disease.
Reference available at mivision.com.au.