Conservation of docosahexaenoic acid in the retina.

Over the last several years, evidence has accumulated that n-3 fatty acids, particularly 22:6n-3, are essential for the development of the structure and function of the visual system. The importance of 22:6n-3 is reflected in the tenacious manner in which the retina conserves this fatty acid during n-3 deficiency. We have shown that conservation is achieved by recycling 22:6n-3 within the retina or between the retina and the pigment epithelium. Within the retina, recycling could be accomplished by deacylation-reacylation reactions (Louie et al., 1991; Zimmerman and Keys, 1988). Recycling between the retina and the RPE may be achieved through specific transport proteins, possibly interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (Bazan et al., 1985) and/or apolipoprotein E (Bazan et al., 1991).