title: No turnover in lens lipids for the entire human lifespan.
abstract: Lipids are critical to cellular function and it is generally accepted that lipid turnover is rapid and dysregulation in turnover results in disease (Dawidowicz 1987; Phillips et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2013). In this study, we present an intriguing counter-example by demonstrating that in the center of the human ocular lens, there is no lipid turnover in fiber cells during the entire human lifespan. This discovery, combined with prior demonstration of pronounced changes in the lens lipid composition over a lifetime (Hughes et al., 2012), suggests that some lipid classes break down in the body over several decades, whereas others are stable. Such substantial changes in lens cell membranes may play a role in the genesis of age-related eye disorders. Whether long-lived lipids are present in other tissues is not yet known, but this may prove to be important in understanding the development of age-related diseases.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.affiliation: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, Australia.
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Levchenko
authors.affiliation: Central Analytical Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blanksby
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Todd W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Lucas Heights, Australia.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger J W
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Truscott
mesh_terms: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005136:Eye Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000378:metabolism*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005136:Eye Proteins; D008563:Membrane Lipids
keywords: C14; cell biology; human; human biology; lens; lipids; mass spectrometry; medicine; turnover