Anne Hanneken

Recent Research on Polyphenolics in Vision and Eye Health

A long-standing yet controversial bioactivity attributed to polyphenols is their beneficial effects in vision. Although anecdotal case reports and in vitro research studies provide evidence for the visual benefits of anthocyanin-rich berries, rigorous clinical evidence of their benefits is still lacking. Recent in vitro studies demonstrate that anthocyanins and other flavonoids interact directly with rhodopsin and modulate visual pigment function. Additional in vitro studies show flavonoids protect a variety of retinal cell types from oxidative stress-induced cell death, a neuroprotective property of significance because the retina has the highest metabolic rate of any tissue and is particularly vulnerable to oxidative injury. However, more information is needed on the bioactivity of in vivo conjugates and the accumulation of flavonoids in ocular tissues. The direct and indirect costs of age-related vision impairment provide a powerful incentive to explore the potential for improved vision health through the intake of dietary polyphenolics.

Lack of correlation between the spatial distribution of A2E and lipofuscin fluorescence in the human retinal pigment epithelium.

PURPOSE The accumulation of lipofuscin in the RPE is a hallmark of aging in the eye. The best characterized component of lipofuscin is A2E, a bis-retinoid byproduct of the normal retinoid visual cycle, which exhibits a broad spectrum of cytotoxic effects in vitro. The purpose of our study was to correlate the distribution of lipofuscin and A2E across the human RPE. METHODS Lipofuscin fluorescence was imaged in flat-mounted RPE from human donors of various ages. The spatial distributions of A2E and its oxides were determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) on flat-mounted RPE tissue sections and retinal cross-sections. RESULTS Our data support the clinical observations of strong RPE fluorescence, increasing with age, in the central area of the RPE. However, there was no correlation between the distribution of A2E and lipofuscin, as the levels of A2E were highest in the far periphery and decreased toward the central region. High-resolution MALDI-IMS of retinal cross-sections confirmed the A2E localization data obtained in RPE flat-mounts. Singly- and doubly-oxidized A2E had distributions similar to A2E, but represented <10% of the A2E levels. CONCLUSIONS This report to our knowledge is the first description of the spatial distribution of A2E in the human RPE by imaging mass spectrometry. These data demonstrate that the accumulation of A2E is not responsible for the increase in lipofuscin fluorescence observed in the central RPE with aging.

The flavonoid, eriodictyol, induces long-term protection in ARPE-19 cells through its effects on Nrf2 activation and phase 2 gene expression.

PURPOSE Eriodictyol, a flavonoid found in citrus fruits, is among the most potent compounds reported to protect human RPE cells from oxidative stress-induced cell death. The present study sought to determine whether eriodictyol-induced phase 2 protein expression further enhances the resistance of human ARPE-19 cells to oxidative stress. METHODS The ability of eriodictyol to activate Nrf2 and to induce the phase 2 proteins heme-oxygenase (HO)-1 and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO)-1, and the cellular antioxidant glutathione (GSH) were analyzed. Cytoprotection assays in ARPE-19 cells that were overexpressing HO-1 or NQO-1 were performed, cell survival after short-term and long-term eriodictyol treatment was compared, and the mechanism of protection using a dominant negative Nrf2 and shRNA specific for HO-1 was tested. RESULTS Eriodictyol induced the nuclear translocation of Nrf2, enhanced the expression of HO-1 and NQO-1, and increased the levels of intracellular glutathione. ARPE-19 cells that overexpress HO-1 or NQO-1 were more resistant to oxidative stress-induced cell death than control cells. Eriodictyol induced long-term protection significantly greater than its short-term protection. This effect was correlated temporally with the activation of Nrf2 and the induction of phase 2 enzymes and could be blocked with the use of a dominant negative Nrf2 and shRNA specific to HO-1. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that the greatest benefit from eriodictyol may be its ability to regulate gene expression and enhance multiple cellular defenses to oxidative injury.

Structural characterization of the circulating soluble FGF receptors reveals multiple isoforms generated by secretion and ectodomain shedding

Soluble fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) have been identified in multiple biological fluids, including blood. Efforts to examine the biological properties of these proteins have been hampered by the incomplete chemical characterization of the receptors within the second half of the third immunoglobulin (Ig)‐like domain, where alternative splicing leads to receptor variants with different ligand binding properties. Using mass spectrometry techniques, we have mapped the soluble FGFRs to the secreted receptor, FGFR1(IIIa), the two and three Ig‐like domain isoforms of FGFR1(IIIc) and a carboxyl‐terminal cleavage peptide from the two and three Ig‐like domain isoforms of FGFR1(IIIb). The secreted FGFR is produced by the translation of an alternatively spliced transcript and the cleaved receptors are released by ectodomain shedding of the transmembrane receptors.

Mass spectrometry provides accurate and sensitive quantitation of A2E.

Orange autofluorescence from lipofuscin in the lysosomes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a hallmark of aging in the eye. One of the major components of lipofuscin is A2E, the levels of which increase with age and in pathologic conditions, such as Stargardt disease or age-related macular degeneration. In vitro studies have suggested that A2E is highly phototoxic and, more specifically, that A2E and its oxidized derivatives contribute to RPE damage and subsequent photoreceptor cell death. To date, absorption spectroscopy has been the primary method to identify and quantitate A2E. Here, a new mass spectrometric method was developed for the specific detection of low levels of A2E and compared to a traditional method of analysis. The new mass spectrometric method allows the detection and quantitation of approximately 10,000-fold less A2E than absorption spectroscopy and the detection and quantitation of low levels of oxidized A2E, with localization of the oxidation sites. This study suggests that identification and quantitation of A2E from tissue extracts by chromatographic absorption spectroscopy overestimates the amount of A2E. This mass spectrometric approach makes it possible to detect low levels of A2E and its oxidized metabolites with greater accuracy than traditional methods, thereby facilitating a more exact analysis of bis-retinoids in animal models of inherited retinal degeneration as well as in normal and diseased human eyes.

Oral proton pump inhibitors disrupt horizontal cell-cone feedback and enhance visual hallucinations in macular degeneration patients.

PURPOSE Visual hallucinations (VHs) occur in macular degeneration patients with poor vision but normal cognitive function. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We report the identification of pharmaceutical agents that enhance VH and use these agents to examine the contribution of retinal neurons to this syndrome. METHODS We detail clinical observations on VH in five macular degeneration patients treated with proton pump inhibitors having the core structure, 2-pyridyl-methylsulfinyl-benzimidazole. We tested possible retinal mechanisms using paired whole cell recordings to examine effects of these compounds on feedback interactions between horizontal cells and cones in amphibian retina. RESULTS Five patients with advanced wet macular degeneration described patterned VHs that were induced or enhanced by oral proton pump inhibitors. The abnormal images increased with light, disappeared in the dark, and originated in the retina, based on ophthalmodynamometry. Simultaneous paired whole cell recordings from amphibian cones and horizontal cells showed that 2-pyridyl-methylsulfinyl-benzimidazoles blocked the negative shift in voltage dependence and increase in amplitude of the calcium current (ICa) in cones that is induced by changes in horizontal cell membrane potential. These effects disrupt the negative feedback from horizontal cells to cones that is important for the formation of center-surround receptive fields in bipolar and ganglion cells, and thus for normal spatial and chromatic perception. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that changes in the output of retinal neurons caused by disturbances in outer retinal feedback mechanisms can enhance patterned visual hallucinations.

Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate lipids in the retinal pigment epithelium implicate lysosomal/endosomal dysfunction in a model of Stargardt disease and human retinas

Stargardt disease is a juvenile onset retinal degeneration, associated with elevated levels of lipofuscin and its bis-retinoid components, such as N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E). However, the pathogenesis of Stargardt is still poorly understood and targeted treatments are not available. Utilizing high spatial and high mass resolution matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS), we determined alterations of lipid profiles specifically localized to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in Abca4−/− Stargardt model mice compared to their relevant background strain. Extensive analysis by LC-MS/MS in both positive and negative ion mode was required to accurately confirm the identity of one highly expressed lipid class, bis(monoacylgylercoro)phosphate (BMP) lipids, and to distinguish them from isobaric species. The same BMP lipids were also detected in the RPE of healthy human retina. BMP lipids have been previously associated with the endosomal/lysosomal storage diseases Niemann-Pick and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis and have been reported to regulate cholesterol levels in endosomes. These results suggest that perturbations in lipid metabolism associated with late endosomal/lysosomal dysfunction may play a role in the pathogenesis of Stargardt disease and is evidenced in human retinas.