Dr Arujuna Ratayaka and his team have published a new paper in Cells: Whole RNA-Seq Analysis Reveals Longitudinal Proteostasis Network Responses to Photoreceptor Outer Segment Trafficking and Degrading in RPE Cells. The study showed how gene-networks in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells respond to engulfing outer segments of photoceptors. These discoveries provide a ‘fingerprint’, identifying genetic-hubs and specific genes that might be vulnerable to disruption in blinding diseases such as AMD and some rare/inherited retinopathies, where outer segment internalisation and breakdown becomes dysfunctional.
