For a study, researchers sought to understand the daily recreation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) interphase was a dramatic illustration of cellular interdependence. Photoreceptors use photosensitive pigments to convert light into electrical signals, whereas the RPE supports photoreceptors by phagocytizing shed photoreceptor tips, managing the blood-retina barrier, controlling inflammatory responses, and regenerating the 11-cis-retinal chromophore through the classical visual cycle. These activities required a large number of lipids and protein-lipid interactions, as well as multiple protein complexes, tightly controlled ligand-receptor interactions, and a variety of lipids. It was yet unknown precisely how lipids influence the smooth communication between the RPE and photoreceptors. Numerous facets of those connections, including the function of lipids in phagocytosis and phagolysosome activity, the recycling of nutrients, and the metabolic dependence between the 2 cell types, have seen significant advancement in recent years. They intended to incorporate the complicated role of lipids in photoreceptors and RPE function in this review by emphasizing the dynamic interaction between the cells and emphasizing how these processes were altered by aging and retinal diseases.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350946221000987
