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Zinc May Be Key to Major Cause of Blindness |
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FRIDAY, Aug. 27 (HealthDayNews) -- Zinc plays a critical role in the development of retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disease that causes blindness in more than a million people worldwide.
Zinc is a trace metal naturally absorbed by the body. The amount of zinc in the body can determine whether rhodopsin, a key light receptor protein in the eye, functions normally or abnormally, says a Dartmouth Medical School study.
This is the first confirmation that zinc plays a major role in rhodopsin activity.
"We have found if there is not enough zinc in the body or there is a mutation in the zinc binding site, the protein rhodopsin will misfold and break down, triggering cell death, degeneration of the retina and eventually blindness," researcher Dr. John Hwa, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology, said in a prepared statement.
"What is especially exciting about this new direction in our research is that this characteristic of rhodopsin is very similar to other proteins implicated in many neurodegenerative and human diseases. The fact that a trace metal can have such a critical impact on rhodopsin's ability to function properly may point to significant advances for research in other devastating illnesses as well," Hwa said.
The study was published in the Aug. 20 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
More information
Prevent Blindness America has more about retinitis pigmentosa.
(SOURCE: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, news release, Aug. 18, 2004)
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