Newly identified molecule strengthens the eye’s response to damage in retinal disease (IMAGE)
Caption
This artistic rendering depicts the retina as a landscape at night, where blood vessels appear as luminous rivers across hills of neural tissue. A constellation of erucamide molecules descends in light and engages TMEM19 on microglial cells, rousing them from their resting state. As the activated cells begin to glow, the surrounding tissue brightens, illustrating how erucamide-mediated activation of retinal microglial cells improved vascular and neuroretinal outcomes in models of retinal degeneration.
Credit
Katie Biscocho, Scripps Research
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