Conditional knockout of hephaestin in the neural retina disrupts retinal iron homeostasis

0558437 - ÚMG 2023 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Zhang, K. - Baumann, B. - Song, Y. - Sterling, J. - Erler, E. - Guttha, S. - Kozmik, Zbyněk - Dunaief, J.L.
Conditional knockout of hephaestin in the neural retina disrupts retinal iron homeostasis.
Experimental Eye Research. Roč. 218, May (2022), č. článku 109028. ISSN 0014-4835. E-ISSN 1096-0007
Institutional support: RVO:68378050
Keywords : Retina * Iron * Ferrous * Ceruloplasmin * Hephaestin * Age-related macular degeneration
OECD category: Cell biology
Impact factor: 3.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014483522001099?via%3Dihub

Iron accumulation has been implicated in degenerative retinal diseases. It can catalyze the production of damaging reactive oxygen species. Previous work has demonstrated iron accumulation in multiple retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. In mice, systemic knockout of the ferroxidases ceruloplasmin (Cp) and hephaestin (Heph), which oxidize iron, results in retinal iron accumulation and iron-induced degeneration. To determine the role of Heph in the retina, we generated a neural retina-specific Heph knockout on a background of systemic Cp knockout. This resulted in elevated neural retina iron. Conversely, retinal ganglion cells had elevated transferrin receptor and decreased ferritin, suggesting diminished iron levels. The retinal degeneration observed in systemic Cp-/-, Heph- /- mice did not occur. These findings indicate that Heph has a local role in regulating neural retina iron homeostasis, but also suggest that preserved Heph function in either the RPE or systemically mitigates the degeneration phenotype observed in the systemic Cp- /-, Heph-/- mice.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0332900