Probing Metabolism in the Intact Retina Using Stable Isotope Tracers

Vertebrate retinas have several characteristics that make them particularly interesting from a metabolic perspective. The retinas have a highly laminated structure, high energy demands, and they share several metabolic features with tumors, such as a strong Warburg effect and abundant pyruvate kinas...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMethods in enzymology Vol. 561; p. 149
Main Authors Du, Jianhai, Linton, Jonathan D, Hurley, James B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.01.2015
Subjects
Animals
Darkness
Energy Metabolism
Isotope Labeling - methods
Light
Mass Spectrometry - methods
Neuroglia - metabolism
Neurons - metabolism
Retina - metabolism
GC–MS
Stable isotope
Retinal metabolism
Metabolic analysis
Neuron–glia interaction
LC–MS
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Summary:Vertebrate retinas have several characteristics that make them particularly interesting from a metabolic perspective. The retinas have a highly laminated structure, high energy demands, and they share several metabolic features with tumors, such as a strong Warburg effect and abundant pyruvate kinase M2 isoform expression. The energy demands of retinas are both qualitatively and quantitatively different in light and darkness and metabolic dysfunction could cause retinal degeneration. Stable isotope-based metabolic analysis with mass spectrometry is a powerful tool to trace the dynamic metabolic reactions and reveal novel metabolic pathways within cells and between cells in retina. Here, we describe methods to quantify retinal metabolism in intact retinas and discuss applications of these methods to the understanding of neuron-glia interaction, light and dark adaptation, and retinal degenerative diseases.
ISSN:1557-7988
DOI:10.1016/bs.mie.2015.04.002