Sonja Krane

A2E, a byproduct of the visual cycle

A substantial portion of the lipofuscin that accumulates with age and in some retinal disorders in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, forms as a consequence of light-related vitamin A recycling. Major constituents of RPE lipofuscin are the di-retinal conjugate A2E and its photoisomers. That the accretion of A2E has consequences for the cell, with the adverse effects of A2E being attributable to its amphiphilic structure and its photoreactivity, is consistent with evidence of an association between atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and excessive lipofuscin accumulation.

A2E, a fluorophore of RPE lipofuscin: can it cause RPE degeneration?

In atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease, the death of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell death leads to photoreceptor cell degeneration and visual impairment. Nevertheless, the cause of RPE atrophy is poorly understood. One factor that may place RPE cells at risk is the accumulation of critical levels of lipofuscin. Indeed, several lines of evidence indicate that the excessive accumulation of lipofuscin by RPE cells is significant in terms of the etiology of AMD. Firstly, histological analyses of human donor eyes (Wing et al., 1978; Weiter et al., 1986), in addition to fundus spectrophotometry (Delori et al., 1995a; Delori et al., 2001), and confocal ophthalmoscopy (von Ruckmann et al., 1997), have shown that RPE cells overlying the macula, with the exception of RPE in the cone-rich fovea, exhibit the most pronounced age-related accumulation of fluorescent material. Lipofuscin levels in RPE cells are also topographically correlated with histopathological indicators of AMD (Feeney-Burns et al., 1984; Dorey et al., 1989) and with the loss of photoreceptor cells in aged eyes (Dorey et al., 1989). Interestingly, increased fundus autofluorescence at the borders of geographic atrophy is considered to represent an enhanced accumulation of RPE lipofuscin and to implicate the latter in the disease process (Holz et al., 1999; Holz et al., 2001). While the amassing of lipofuscin by RPE is a feature of aging, excessive accretion also occurs in Stargardt disease, some forms of retinitis pigmentosa and cone-rod dystrophy (Weingeist et al., 1982; Rabb et al., 1986; Lopez et al., 1990; Delori et al., 1995b; Kennedy et al., 1995).

Simplified Submission Requirements for Authors of JACS Communications

Communications T Journal of the American Chemical Society has long been the preeminent venue for the dissemination of broad, general chemistry findings to the global chemical community. The Journal considers submissions of both Articles and Communications, the latter of which are restricted to reports of unusual urgency, timeliness, significance, and broad interest. As the field has evolved, so too has the manner in which work is reported. In particular, Communications began as highly focused letters to the Editor that were frequently shorter than one page in length. Over time, more complex research projects resulted in the progression to 2-page Communications, 3-page Communications in special cases, and most recently, 4-page Communications as the common format. This page-based formatting convention occasionally caused problems for authors in the Journal, increasingly so in the modern digital age. A word processing template intended to guide authors in the preparation of appropriate-length manuscripts more often caused frustration, as the conversion of fonts and formats to published Communications was more of an inexact art than a reliable science. The strict page limit commonly resulted in the need for authors to engage in substantial cuts at the galley proof stage, a time-consuming and exasperating exercise to edit content that had served as the basis of the editorial peer-review underlying the manuscript’s acceptance for publication. Seeking to mitigate this frustration as much as possible, the Journal has in 2018 switched to word count as the defining limit for a JACS Communication rather than a page limit. As described in the Notice to Authors, “A Communication must convey the scientific findings concisely in abstract, main text, and graphical elements as determined by a word count not exceeding 2,200 words, including titles/footnotes/captions of approximately five graphics...” 3 and excluding references. With this change, authors understand from the early stages of manuscript preparation exactly how many words can be used to report their results and conclusions in a Communication. The word limit has been set to reflect the format of Communications today, and the vast majority of published Communications will continue to be ∼4 pages long; however, the focus for authors, editors, reviewers, and readers alike returns to the primary purpose of any scientific publication: the scientific findings being reported. This change for the Journal dovetails with the introduction earlier this year of Review-Ready Submission across the American Chemical Society’s journal portfolio. The key features of this effort are a set of standard and simplified formatting requirementsjournal-specific scientif ic requirements still applyand a single reference style for original submissions to any journal. Aspects of this new process are likely to benefit authors in numerous ways. Authors will save considerable time because they can prepare their manuscripts using a single formatting standard acceptable for any ACS journal. Many authors submit their work at different times to different ACS journals; no longer will they need to modify formatting depending on the target journal. This change will also help streamline the manuscript transfer process by eliminating the need to completely reformat manuscripts for the destination journal. The Journal editors hope that these simplified submission requirements are a positive step in support of authors as they seek to broadly disseminate their groundbreaking findings to the worldwide chemistry community. Peter J. Stang, Editor Sonja Krane, Senior Managing Editor