By: David Hutton
Scientists at the Doheny Eye Institute, in collaboration with UCLA chemists, demonstrate how a single gene mutation in an enzyme complex known to produce the energy required by cells causes a sudden, blinding disease.
In a recent conversation with Ophthalmology Times, Alfredo A. Sadun, MD, PhD, chief at Doheny Eye Center – UCLA, discusses a paper titled Coenzyme Q10 trapping in mitochondrial complex I underlies Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy.
The paper has been nominated for a Cozzarelli Prize, which is awarded annually to 6 research teams whose PNAS articles have made outstanding contributions to their field. Each team represents one of the 6 classes of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS): Physical and Mathematical Sciences; Biological Sciences; Engineering and Applied Sciences; Biomedical Sciences; Behavioral and Social Sciences; and Applied Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.