Bottlenecks in the Investigation of Retinal Sterol Homeostasis

Biomolecules. 2024 Mar 12;14(3):341. doi: 10.3390/biom14030341.

Abstract

Sterol homeostasis in mammalian cells and tissues involves balancing three fundamental processes: de novo sterol biosynthesis; sterol import (e.g., from blood-borne lipoproteins); and sterol export. In complex tissues, composed of multiple different cell types (such as the retina), import and export also may involve intratissue, intercellular sterol exchange. Disruption of any of these processes can result in pathologies that impact the normal structure and function of the retina. Here, we provide a brief overview of what is known currently about sterol homeostasis in the vertebrate retina and offer a proposed path for future experimental work to further our understanding of these processes, with relevance to the development of novel therapeutic interventions for human diseases involving defective sterol homeostasis.

Keywords: cholesterol; homeostasis; lipid; lipoprotein; retina; retinal degeneration; sterol.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Transport
  • Cholesterol* / metabolism
  • Homeostasis
  • Humans
  • Mammals / metabolism
  • Retina* / metabolism
  • Sterols / metabolism

Substances

  • Cholesterol
  • Sterols

Grants and funding

The original research by the authors that served as the basis for this Review Article was supported, in part: by U.S.P.H.S. grants R01 EY007361 (S.J.F.) and R01 EY033298 (S.J.F.) from the National Eye Institute/N.I.H.; by a Fight for Sight Postdoctoral Fellowship (S.R.R.); by two Career Starter Grants from the Knights Templar Eye Foundation (S.R.R.); a Retina Research Foundation (RRF) Paul A. Kayser International Award in Retina Research (S.J.F.); startup funds from the Department of Ophthalmology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, SUNY-University at Buffalo (S.R.R.); and by facilities and resources provided by the VA Western NY Healthcare System. S.J.F. is the recipient of Research Career Scientist awards 15F-RCS-001 and I K6 BX005787 from the Department of Veterans Affairs/BLR&D Service. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of the Department of Veteran Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.