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Mystery draws Fliesler into ophthalmic research
The recruitment of ophthalmic researcher Steven Fliesler was crucial to the formation of the new Vision Research Center at the Buffalo VA Medical Center and the research program at UB’s Ira G. Ross Eye Institute. Photo: Nancy J. Parisi
Steven Fliesler, who joined the Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, this fall, says his career in ophthalmic research stems from two passions: a love of exploring the unexplored and a drive to understand—and help cure—serious diseases of the eye.
So when he learned about a strange relationship between a common human protein and age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness among adults age 50 and older in the United States—he just knew he had to dig deeper into the mystery.
What was so baffling were claims that a protein called apolipoprotein-E4 (ApoE4) acted as both a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and a negative risk factor for age-related macular degeneration.
“That’s what drew me into this,” he says. “Biology is usually conserved—if you have a molecule that functions one way in one part of the body, then chances are it’s going to have the same or similar function in some other part of the body.” Since the brain and the retina are just different parts of the nervous system, Fliesler reasons that a molecule like ApoE4 should behave the same in both tissues.
In part due to his work on the topic, Fliesler, who earned his doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University, says researchers now are one step closer to unraveling the complex interaction of these risk factors. Using gene-altering techniques, he says his team found that mice producing apolipoprotein-E4, which differs from other forms of the protein by only two amino acids, exhibit stronger cone function, despite declining eyesight from other genetic and possibly environmental factors.
Also benefiting from Fliesler’s research are individuals suffering from Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that profoundly affects the nervous system, including eyesight. By creating the first successful animal model of this syndrome—using drug-induced methods rather than genetic modification—he says his team found that a high-cholesterol diet seems to slow the onset and severity of blindness in the animal model. “Cholesterol supplementation is the current therapy of choice in treating Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome patients, but the treatment is not completely effective,” Fliesler says. Additional studies in Fliesler’s lab suggest that antioxidants, plus cholesterol, might provide a better therapeutic treatment for the disease than cholesterol alone.
Fliesler’s work in these particular research areas has been supported since 2001 by more than $2.5 million in grants, primarily from the National Institutes of Health. Also supporting his work are the March of Dimes and Research to Prevent Blindness, the latter a private foundation that raises funds to support eye research.
Previously a professor at Saint Louis University, Fliesler says he joined the UB faculty because he wanted to contribute to the fast-developing Department of Ophthalmology. In addition to his appointment as a professor, he is vice chair and director of research—both new positions in the department—and also holds the Meyer Richwun Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology. In addition, he is a part-time health systems specialist with the VA Medical Center.
“These sorts of positions come up every now and again, but they’re not very common,” he says. “After I met the department chair and faculty, I felt this would be a good place for me to continue my career.”
He says the Department of Ophthalmology plans to expand its nascent vision research group by hiring two to three additional faculty members over the next three to five years, complimenting the existing five research-oriented faculty in the department.
Fliesler’s recruitment was crucial to the formation of the new Vision Research Center at the Buffalo VA Medical Center and the research program at UB’s Ira G. Ross Eye Institute, according to James D. Reynolds, professor and chair of the ophthalmology department.
“We believe that our mission, our resources and our research environment are second to none,” he says. “Dr. Fliesler’s recruitment is evidence that UB can attract the ‘best and the brightest.’”
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