Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38824126›Full record

ArticleCell death & disease2024

PGC-1α repression dysregulates lipid metabolism and induces lipid droplet accumulation in retinal pigment epithelium.

Shuyan Zhou, Kaan Taskintuna, Jacob Hum, Jasmine Gulati, Stephanie Olaya, Jeremy Steinman, Nady Golestaneh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell death & disease, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
39citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in the retinal pigment epithelium and its association with outer retinal disease.Mammalian genome : official journal of the International Mammalian Genome Society · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Spontaneous whole retinal degeneration in aged Beclin1 heterozygous mice.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026
    Article
  11. The roles of glycerophospholipids in the aging retina and age-related macular degeneration.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. HFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Divergent Regulation of Mammary Lipogenesis byAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025
    Article
  19. Sleep-dependent clearance of brain lipids by peripheral blood cells.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shuyan ZhouDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Kaan TaskintunaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Jacob HumDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Jasmine GulatiDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Stephanie OlayaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Jeremy SteinmanDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Nady GolestanehDepartment of Ophthalmology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, 20007, USA. ncg8@georgetown.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-7573-0962

Funding

Tissue Culture Shared ResourceP30CA051008 · NCI · GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY · PI Louis M Weiner · 1990 to 2026
$71.5M
AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α, a critical pathway in dry AMDR01EY028917 · NEI · GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY · PI GOLESTANEH, NADY · 2019 to 2023
$1.9M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA051008NEI NIH HHS R01 EY028917U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Eye Institute (NEI) R01EY028917
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Drusen, the yellow deposits under the retina, are composed of lipids and proteins, and represent a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Lipid droplets are also reported in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from AMD donor eyes. However, the mechanisms underlying these disease phenotypes remain elusive. Previously, we showed that Pgc-1α repression, combined with a high-fat diet (HFD), induce drastic AMD-like phenotypes in mice. We also reported increased PGC-1α acetylation and subsequent deactivation in the RPE derived from AMD donor eyes. Here, through a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments, we sought to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which PGC-1α repression could influence RPE and retinal function. We show that PGC-1α plays an important role in RPE and retinal lipid metabolism and function. In mice, repression of Pgc-1α alone induced RPE and retinal degeneration and drusen-like deposits. In vitro inhibition of PGC1A by CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human RPE (ARPE19- PGC1A KO) affected the expression of genes responsible for lipid metabolism, fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO), fatty acid transport, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake, cholesterol esterification, cholesterol biosynthesis, and cholesterol efflux. Moreover, inhibition of PGC1A in RPE cells caused lipid droplet accumulation and lipid peroxidation. ARPE19-PGC1A KO cells also showed reduced mitochondrial biosynthesis, impaired mitochondrial dynamics and activity, reduced antioxidant enzymes, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, loss of cardiolipin, and increased susceptibility to oxidative stress. Our data demonstrate the crucial role of PGC-1α in regulating lipid metabolism. They provide new insights into the mechanisms involved in lipid and drusen accumulation in the RPE and retina during aging and AMD, which may pave the way for developing novel therapeutic strategies targeting PGC-1α.

Indexed as

Lipid DropletsLipid MetabolismMacular DegenerationPeroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alphaRetinal Pigment EpitheliumAnimalsHumansMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMitochondriaOxidative StressPeroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alphaPPARGC1A protein, humanPpargc1a protein, mouse

Identifiers

PMID38824126
PMCPMC11144268

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Registered trials

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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.