Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Molecular medicine

Defence against oxidative damage

Nature volume 478, pages 42–43 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. Hope for prevention and treatment comes from the discovery of a protective mechanism against oxidative damage to the eye. See Letter p.76

Dangerous oxygen radicals that are sometimes generated during metabolic processes can damage cellular components. The eye, with its constant exposure to light and its high metabolic rate, is particularly susceptible to such damage, or oxidative stress. If left unchecked, this can be cumulative, leading to age-related macular degeneration. Almost two-thirds of people over the age of 80 have this condition, and between 30 million and 50 million individuals are affected worldwide, with a frequency in industrialized countries similar to that of cancer1. On page 76 of this issue, Weismann et al.2 describe how a protein normally associated with an immune pathway also protects against inflammation induced by oxidative stress in age-related macular degeneration. By combining in vitro and in vivo data from human patients and animal models, the authors provide a plausible explanation for the cause of this devastating chronic disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Mechanisms at work in age-related macular degeneration.

References

  1. Takeda, A. et al. Nature 460, 225–230 (2009).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Weismann, D. et al. Nature 478, 76–81 (2011).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Telander, D. G. Semin. Ophthalmol. 26, 192–197 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Crabb, J. W. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 14682–14687 (2002).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Klein, R. J. et al. Science 308, 385–389 (2005).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Haines, J. L. et al. Science 308, 419–421 (2005).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Edwards, A. O. et al. Science 308, 421–424 (2005).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Miller, Y. I. et al. Circ. Res. 108, 235–248 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Suzuki, M. et al. Mol. Vision 13, 772–778 (2007).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hollyfield, J. G. et al. Nature Med. 14, 194–198 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fernando Cruz-Guilloty and Victor L. Perez are in the Department of Ophthalmology, and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, USA.,

    Fernando Cruz-Guilloty & Victor L. Perez

Authors
  1. Fernando Cruz-Guilloty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Victor L. Perez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Victor L. Perez.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cruz-Guilloty, F., Perez, V. Defence against oxidative damage. Nature 478, 42–43 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/478042a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/478042a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing