ArticleJournal of lipid research2017
Whales, lifespan, phospholipids, and cataracts.
Article in Journal of lipid research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lens aging and disease: Molecular mechanisms, functional consequences, and pharmacological implications.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2026Review
- Lipid and Cholesterol Peroxidation Leads to α-Crystallin Membrane Aggregation and Cataract Formation.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Physical Properties of Lens Membranes in Animals with Different Lifespans.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Cholesterol and Q147E Deamidation Modulates αA-Crystallin Membrane Binding Elucidating Protective Role of Lens Membrane Composition Changes With Aging.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Aging of the eye: Lessons from cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.Ageing research reviews · 2024Review
- Association of Alpha-Crystallin with Human Cortical and Nuclear Lens Lipid Membrane Increases with the Grade of Cortical and Nuclear Cataract.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Skin Cancer Microenvironment: What We Can Learn from Skin Aging?International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Binding of βInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Identification and quantification of ionising radiation-induced oxysterol formation in membranes of lens fibre cells.Advances in redox research · 2023Article
- Insights into the biochemical and biophysical mechanisms mediating the longevity of the transparent optics of the eye lens.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2022Review
- Binding of Alpha-Crystallin to Cortical and Nuclear Lens Lipid Membranes Derived from a Single Lens.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- PEDF Deletion Induces Senescence and Defects in Phagocytosis in the RPE.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Membrane elasticity modulated by cholesterol in model of porcine eye lens-lipid membrane.Experimental eye research · 2022Article
- Alpha-Crystallin Association with the Model of Human and Animal Eye Lens-Lipid Membranes is Modulated by Surface Hydrophobicity of Membranes.Current eye research · 2022Article
- Meibum sphingolipid composition is altered in individuals with meibomian gland dysfunction-a side by side comparison of Meibum and Tear Sphingolipids.The ocular surface · 2022Article
- A spectroscopic study of the composition and conformation of cholesteryl and wax esters purified from meibum.Chemistry and physics of lipids · 2021Article
- Association of Alpha-Crystallin with Fiber Cell Plasma Membrane of the Eye Lens Accompanied by Light Scattering and Cataract Formation.Membranes · 2021Review
- Cholesterol and cholesterol bilayer domains inhibit binding of alpha-crystallin to the membranes made of the major phospholipids of eye lens fiber cell plasma membranes.Experimental eye research · 2021Article
- Metabolic Signature of Leukocyte Telomere Length in Elite Male Soccer Players.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2021Article
- Interaction of alpha-crystallin with four major phospholipids of eye lens membranes.Experimental eye research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study addresses the question: why do rats get cataracts at 2 years, dogs at 8 years, and whales do not develop cataracts for 200 years? Whale lens lipid phase transitions were compared with the phase transitions of other species that were recalculated. The major phospholipids of the whale lens were sphingolipids, mostly dihydrosphingomyelins with an average molar cholesterol/phospholipid ratio of 10. There was a linear correlation between the percentage of lens sphingolipid and lens lipid hydrocarbon chain order until about 60% sphingolipid. The percentage of lens sphingolipid correlated with the lens lipid phase transition temperature. The lifespan of the bowhead whale was the longest of the species measured and the percentage of whale lens sphingolipid fit well in the correlation between the percentage of lens sphingolipid and lifespan for many species. In conclusion, bowhead whale lens membranes have a high sphingolipid content that confers resistance to oxidation, allowing these lenses to stay clear relatively longer than many other species. The strong correlation between sphingolipid and lifespan may form a basis for future studies, which are needed because correlations do not infer cause. One could hope that if human lenses could be made to have a lipid composition similar to whales, like the bowhead, humans would not develop age-related cataracts for over 100 years.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.