Phospholipase c activity in retinal pigment epithelium

The role of the retinal pigment epithelial cells on the viability and renewal of photoreceptors has been well demonstrated in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) strain of rat. These rats are characterized by an inherited time-dependent degeneration of their photoreceptors. This degeneration is apparently due to the inability of the retinal pigment epithelial cells to adequately ingest fragments of photoreceptor membrane that are shed during the course of photoreceptor membrane renewal. The buildup of photoreceptor material in the interphotoreceptor space ultimately leads to the degeneration of photoreceptors in these animals. With regard to the pigment epithelial cells, neither the mechanism mediating the ingestion process in normal rats nor the nature of the defect of this process in RCS rats is understood.It is the goal of this proposed research to assay for the presence of phospholipase C in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and to determine possible modulators of the enzyme in an attempt to associate this with the process of phagocytosis.Department of BiologyThesis (M.S.