Oxygen-induced pathological angiogenesis promotes intense lipid synthesis and remodeling in the retina

The retina is a notable tissue with high metabolic needs which relies on special-ized vascular networks to protect the neural retina while maintaining constant supplies of oxygen, nutrients, and dietary essential fatty acids. Here we analyzed the lipidome of the mouse retina under healthy and pathological angiogenesis us-ing the oxygen-induced retinopathy model. By matching lipid profiles to changes in mRNA transcriptome, we identified a lipid signature showing that pathological angiogenesis leads to intense lipid remodeling favoring pathways for neutral lipid synthesis, cholesterol import/export, and lipid droplet formation. Noteworthy, it also shows profound changes in pathways for long-chain fatty acid production, vi-tal for retina homeostasis. The net result is accumulation of large quantities of mead acid, a marker of essential fatty acid deficiency, and a potential marker for retinopathy severity. Thus, our lipid signature might contribute to better un-derstand diseases of the retina that lead to vision impairment or blindness.

Automated summary

By analyzing the lipid composition of the mouse retina, this study found that pathological angiogenesis leads to lipid remodeling and affects retinal homeostasis. The identified lipid signature could contribute to a better understanding of retinal diseases that cause vision impairment or blindness.