Previous investigations have shown that lipofuscin accumulation in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is reduced greatly as a consequence of vitamin A deprivation. The mechanism by which vitamin A regulates RPE lipofuscin deposition remains to be determined. It is possible that retinoids are direct precursors of this substance. Alternatively, vitamin A deficiency may reduce the uptake and pro...

The pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) essentially involves chronic oxidative stress, increased accumulation of lipofuscin in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and extracellular drusen formation, as well as the presence of chronic inflammation. The capacity to prevent the accumulation of cellular cytotoxic protein aggregates is decreased in senescent cells which may evo...

Mitochondria have been in the focus of oxidative stress and aging research for decades due to their permanent production of ROS during the oxidative phosphorylation. The hypothesis exists that mitochondria are involved in the formation of lipofuscin, an autofluorescent protein aggregate that accumulates progressively over time in lysosomes of post-mitotic and senescent cells. To investigate the...

∗ This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants 34509 (KN) and EY12951 (JRS), the Charina Foundation (JRS), the Macula Vision Research Foundation (JRS) and unrestricted funds from Research to Prevent Blindness. JRS is a recipient of a Research to Prevent Blindness Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of...

The levels of malondialdehyde and lipofuscin pigments were increased in the prostate of D-galactose (0.5 ml/day, sc, for 20 days) induced aging mice. After B. monniera (40 mg/kg body weight for 20 days) ethanol leaf extract administration levels of both the parameters were reduced significantly. The results suggest that B. monniera prevents formation of malondialdehyde and lipofuscin pigments w...

Nuclear and perikaryal volumes, as well as the mean percentage of perikaryal volume occupied by lipofuscin, were estimated in spinal ganglion neurons of 12, 42 and 79 month-old rabbits. The volume ratio between nucleus and perikaryal cytoplasm (N/C volume ratio) decreased progressively and signi®cantly with increasing age. This was not a consequence of the perikaryal enlargement due to the age-...

Cellular senescence is a state of irreversible cell cycle arrest induced by different types of cellular stresses. The field of senescence has made significant advances in the understanding of many of the mechanisms governing this phenomenon; however, a universal biomarker that unambiguously distinguishes senescent from proliferating cells has not been found. In this issue of Aging Cell, Evangel...

The knowledge of the optical properties biological tissues in a wide spectral range is highly important for development noninvasive diagnostic or treatment procedures. absorption coefficient one those properties, from which various information about tissue components can be retrieved. Using transmittance and reflectance measurements acquired ex vivo rabbit brain cortex samples allowed to calcul...