The retinal pigment epithelium utilizes fatty acids for ketogenesis: implications for metabolic coupling with the outer retina
Every day, shortly after light onset, photoreceptor cells shed approximately a tenth of their
outer segment. The adjacent retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells phagocytize and digest
shed photoreceptor outer segment, which provides a rich source of fatty acids that could be
utilized as an energy substrate. From a microarray analysis, we found that RPE cells express
particularly high levels of the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase 2 (Hmgcs2) compared with
all other tissues (except the liver and colon), leading to the hypothesis that RPE cells, like …
outer segment. The adjacent retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells phagocytize and digest
shed photoreceptor outer segment, which provides a rich source of fatty acids that could be
utilized as an energy substrate. From a microarray analysis, we found that RPE cells express
particularly high levels of the mitochondrial HMG-CoA synthase 2 (Hmgcs2) compared with
all other tissues (except the liver and colon), leading to the hypothesis that RPE cells, like …