Text Size Normal Text Sizing Button Medium Text Sizing Button Large Text Sizing Button Text Contrast Normal Contrast Button Reverse Contrast Button Switch to Spanish Language Contact Us Sitemap Sign In Register
Link to Homepage About AHAF
Donate Now Get Involved  
Alzheimer's Disease Research Macular Degeneration Research National Glaucoma Research


Sign up for Email Notifications
If you would like to be notified when submission deadlines are announced please click on the link below.

Sign up for new RFP announcements and submission deadline notifications.

This email list is not sold or distributed, and serves only as an annual reminder of the availability of research funding through the American Health Assistance Foundation (www.ahaf.org). Please follow instructions on the notification emails for removal requests.
 
AHAF Research Grants Funding
Grant Funding for Alzheimer's Research
Grant Funding for Macular Degeneration Research
Grant Funding for Glaucoma Research
 

  

Macular Degeneration Research - Current Award

Dr. Aparna Lakkaraju

Aparna Lakkaraju, Ph.D.

Weill Medical College of Cornell University
New York, NY

Title: Apolipoprotein E And Cholesterol Lowering Drugs In Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Non-Technical Title: Cholesterol homeostasis and age-related macular degeneration

Duration: April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2011
Award Type: Standard
Award Amount: $100,000


Summary:

The specific aims outlined in this proposal will provide a cell biological understanding of the role of a protein called apolipoprotein E and the regulation of cholesterol levels in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) tissue of the eye). We will also investigate the potential of two promising drugs, statins and PPARgamma agonists, which are currently being used to treat, respectively, atherosclerosis and diabetes. These drugs will be tested for their ability to maintain cholesterol balance in the RPE.

Details:

It is now becoming increasingly apparent that many chronic age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and macular degeneration share common pathological characteristics. One such characteristic is the abnormal metabolism of cholesterol as a result of defective functioning of proteins involved in this process. For example, genetic variations in apolipoprotein E (ApoE), which transports cholesterol into and out of the cell, have been associated with Alzheimer's disease and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Another protein called sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP) controls the levels of the low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor on the cell surface and the synthesis of new cholesterol. Thus, SREBP helps control the amount of cholesterol in the cell.

Our goal is to understand the functioning of ApoE and SREBP in cells of the retinal pigment epithelium because previous data from our lab shows that these cells lose the ability to handle cholesterol under conditions that mimic those found in AMD. Our results have the potential to ascertain whether drugs like statins, which activate SREBP and are widely used to treat atherosclerosis, can also help maintain proper cholesterol metabolism in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE), which may, in turn, help treat or prevent AMD.

In this project, we aim to:

1. investigate the role of ApoE in the RPE, especially with regard to how genetic variations in this protein affect its function; and

2. investigate the activation of SREBP and regulation of the LDL receptor and statin function in the RPE.