Involvement of a gut-retina axis in protection against dietary glycemia-induced age-related macular degeneration
Abstract
Food is medicine, and diet impacts the risk for and progression of age-related macular degeneration AMD, but we have few clues as to why. We found that wild-type mice fed a high-glycemic-index diet similar in composition to the Western diet developed a disease state that resembles dry AMD. To gain insight into the mechanism, we used LC-MS- and NMR-based metabolomics to discover diet-, metabolic-, and AMD-associated phenotypes. These studies revealed changes in the gut microbiota that altered the production of metabolites that protected against AMD, including serotonin. Changing the diet to a low-glycemic-index diet, even late in life, arrested the development of AMD, offering dietary interventions for AMD.
- Publication:
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- May 2017
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2017PNAS..114E4472R