Oxidative stress induces lysosomal membrane permeabilization and ceramide accumulation in retinal pigment epithelial cells
Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older adults, with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells playing a key role. To better understand the cytotoxic mechanisms underlying oxidative stress, we used a mouse model of iron overload, as iron can catalyze reactive oxygen species formation in the RPE. In a liver-specific Hepc (Hamp) knockout murine model of systemic iron overload, RPE cells accumulated lipid peroxidation adducts and lysosomes, developed progressive hypertrophy, and underwent cell death. Proteomic and lipidomic analyses revealed accumulation of lysosomal proteins, ceramide biosynthetic enzymes, and ceramides. The proteolytic enzyme cathepsin D had impaired maturation. A large proportion of lysosomes were galectin-3 positive, suggesting cytotoxic lysosomal membrane permeabilization. RNA sequencing was performed and did not show evidence of upregulation of CLEAR network genes, suggesting that the lysosomal accumulation was due to decreased lysosomal turnover and not increased lysosomal biogenesis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that iron overload induces lysosomal accumulation and impairs lysosomal function, likely owing to iron-induced lipid peroxides that can inhibit lysosomal enzymes. Overall design: To determine whether liver-specific hepcidin knockout (LS-HepcKO) mice had increased lysosomal biogenesis, we performed an RNA sequencing experiment using isolated RPE cells from 12 month old control and LS-HepcKO mice. There were two control and 3 LS-HepcKO mice.