R01 Grant
Protecting Retinal Neurons from Diabetes Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common and sightthreatening disease driven largely by tissue inflammation and deterioration of the nerve cells of the retina. While therapies like anti-VEGF injections can help slow the damage in the later stages of DR, new strategies are needed to intervene earlier in the disease process, protecting the retina before irreparable harm is done. Biomedical researcher Patrice Fort, Ph.D., M.S., has been at the forefront of investigating targets for retinal neuroprotection. For more than a decade, the Fort lab at Kellogg has pursued the potentially protective role of the protein αA-crystallin. First described in the lens, Dr. Fort’s team has also demonstrated that αA-crystallin/HspB4 plays a protective role in the retina, guarding neurons from the stressors associated with diabetes. They have also shown that one way this protein protects is by changing the environment that promotes inflammation. However, their studies have also demonstrated that, over time, diabetes weakens those protective effects. “We believe that a specific modification of the protein — called phosphorylation—is key to αA-crystallin’s ability to protect retinal neurons and modulate inflammation,” explains Dr. Fort. “But the mechanisms regulating this process are unknown.” Dr. Fort has been awarded an NIH R01 grant to close that knowledge gap.
His project has two aims. The first is to identify the key proteins that regulate the phosphorylation of αA-crystallin and describe how they work. The second is to apply the findings from previous studies to demonstrate the potential of using this protective mechanism as a novel treatment option for diabetes complication. “Using retina cells in culture, we’ve shown that an enhanced form of αA-crystallin is highly protective,” he explains. “The next step is to find out whether it can protect the whole retina from conditions associated with diabetes—in the case of this study, reduced blood flow.” The long term goal is to design treatments that harness the protective powers of this protein to control or prevent DR.
Mark W. Johnson, M.D., Honored with Heed-Gutman Award Mark Johnson, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and Director of the Retina and Uveitis Service, is the latest Kellogg leader to receive the Heed-Gutman Award from the Society of Heed Fellows of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). The award recognizes extraordinary and distinguished clinical, research and/or educational leadership and service to the field. A leading clinician and investigator in the medical and surgical treatment of macular, vitreomacular and vitreoretinal disorders, Dr. Johnson has served as principal investigator on numerous 32
multicenter clinical trials. A prominent voice on retina topics, he has delivered more than 20 named lectures and 240 invited talks in the U.S. and internationally and authored or co-authored nearly 250 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. “I was humbled—and surprised—to learn about the award,” he says. “Over the years I’ve been in the audience to celebrate numerous Heed-Gutman awardees. Hearing about their accomplishments has always inspired me to keep learning and contributing. What an honor to find myself in such esteemed company.” In addition to the Heed-Gutman Award, Dr. Johnson, a past president of both The Macula Society and The Retina Society, has received a U.S. Presidential Scholar Award and both the Senior Achievement Honor and Life Achievement Honor Awards from the AAO.
