FASN mediates crosstalk between autophagy and lipid metabolism via the AMPK-MTOR pathway in early age-related macular degeneration
Jinyu Cai, Yanmei Jiang, Xingyu Liu, Tao Yang, Peizeng Yang, Ling Chen · 2026
Read FASN mediates crosstalk between autophagy and lipid metabolism via the AMPK-MTOR pathway in early age-related macular degeneration by Jinyu Cai, Yanmei Jiang, Xingyu Liu, Tao Yang, Peizeng Yang, Ling Chen (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13501989.txt.
Description
Jinyu Cai and co-authors trace a self-feeding loop between fat build-up and failed cell cleanup in early macular degeneration, in a 2026 study. The disease blurs central vision with age and starts with fat deposits under the retina. Reading gene activity in human macular tissue, the team found a fat-making enzyme, FASN, switched on as a hub gene. In fat-fed mice lacking a related gene, the enzyme rose while cleanup stalled and fat piled up.
Cell tests showed the enzyme itself is normally eaten by the cleanup process; when cleanup fails, it accumulates. Blocking the enzyme restarted cleanup and cleared fat from the eye cells. The block worked through an energy-sensing pathway that lifts a brake on cleanup. The authors name the enzyme's pathway a drug target for early disease, before vision is lost.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Jinyu Cai, Yanmei Jiang, Xingyu Liu, Tao Yang, Peizeng Yang, Ling Chen |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 76 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |