Fighting Age-Related Vision Loss: Fribourg Scientists Unlock a Cellular Recycling Key

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of vision loss in people over 50 across industrialized countries — and as populations age, its prevalence is only set to rise. Scientists at the University of Fribourg may now have found a promising avenue to slow, or even prevent, its progression.

The research, led by Professor Patricia Boya of the University of Fribourg’s Autophagy Lab and conducted in partnership with American and Spanish collaborators, focuses on a natural cellular mechanism called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) — essentially the cell’s internal recycling system. Specialized proteins called chaperones identify damaged proteins and escort them to lysosomes, where they are broken down and eliminated. In healthy cells, this quality-control process runs efficiently. With age, however, it gradually breaks down, allowing waste to accumulate, triggering cellular stress and ultimately leading to vision deterioration.

The Fribourg team demonstrated that this mechanism is particularly active — and particularly vital — in retinal cells. They also showed that it can be reactivated. Using an experimental molecule called CA77.1, designed to stimulate the CMA pathway, researchers were able to reduce waste accumulation, limit inflammation and slow vision deterioration in experimental models. These findings were further confirmed through experiments on cells taken from AMD patients, carried out with the support of Professor Jörn Dengjel from the University’s Department of Biology.

What makes this approach compelling is its breadth: rather than addressing a single symptom or cause, it targets a fundamental cellular mechanism shared across several eye conditions. The results open the door to therapies that could one day offer real protection against age-related vision loss — a concrete hope for millions of patients worldwide.

➡️ Source: UNIFR Press Release | 📸 ©Geralt, Pixabay