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<span style="font-size: 10pt"></span><span style="font-size: 10pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt"><o:p><img size="25215" contenttype="image/jpeg" unselectable="on" tabindex="-1" style="user-select: none; width: 557px; height: 68.7731px;" data-imgsize="custom" width="557" height="68.77308120133482" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:c3f8c198-c2c6-4644-8de7-1a06b42fe2fb"> </o:p></span></p>
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<span>Wednesday, December 4</span><span><span style="font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 17.5667px; top: -4.5pt">th</span></span><span>, 2019<span> </span></span>12:00 PM</h1>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt">ENGINEERING II, ROOM W205</span><span style="font-size: 14pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="margin: 0px"><b><i><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 20pt; font-family: Arial-BoldItalicMT, sans-serif">Tirthankar</span></i></b></span><b><i><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 20pt; font-family: Arial-BoldItalicMT, sans-serif"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span>“Jai”<span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: 2.15pt"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span>Sinha</span></i></b><b><i><span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 20pt; font-family: Arial-BoldItalicMT, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
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<span style="margin: 0px; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.6px">PhD Dissertation Defense<span style="margin: 0px"> </span><span style="margin: 0px">Dr.<span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: -2.65pt"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px">Muna</span><span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: -2.6pt"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px">Naash</span>,<span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: -2.65pt"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span>Faculty<span style="margin: 0px; letter-spacing: -2.65pt"><span style="margin: 0px"> </span></span>Advisor</span></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><img size="41441" contenttype="image/jpeg" unselectable="on" tabindex="-1" data-imgsize="custom" width="196" height="194.4607329842932" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Times; font-size: medium; user-select: none; width: 196px; height: 194.461px;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:378cbf3a-d406-4036-987b-c482309ee9be"></p>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif">“Riboflavin and the Riboflavin Binding Protein,<span> </span><span>Retbindin</span>, are Essential for the Metabolic Homeostasis of the Retina.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<b><span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: "Arial Black", sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt">Abstract<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
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<span>Retbindin</span><span> </span>is a novel retina specific riboflavin binding protein, ablation of which leads to degeneration. Using a combination of untargeted steady state metabolomics and targeted flux metabolomics, we here investigated the mechanism
behind this degeneration. Furthermore, the neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) maintain a symbiotic metabolic relationship, disruption of which leads to debilitating vision loss. In the current study we have identified the differences in the
steady state metabolite levels and the pathways functioning between bona fide neural retina and RPE. Moreover, involvement of key metabolic cofactors, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) in cellular homeostasis has been well established
for tissues other than the retina. Here, we present an optimized method to effectively extract and quantify FAD and FMN from a single neural retina and its corresponding retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). We also show that in absence of<span> </span><span>retbindin</span><span> </span>there
is significant reduction of flavins in both the neural retina and RPE, causing an imbalance in their symbiosis. However, there is no report on how the retina responds to riboflavin deficiency. Thus, here we developed a diet induced model of riboflavin deficiency
and identified how that results in metabolic dysfunction in both the neural retina and RPE. We have further shown that these metabolic abnormalities can eventually compromise the electrophysiological response of both the neural retina and the RPE.<span> </span><span>Thus</span><span> </span>we
provide evidence how riboflavin and its binding protein<span> </span><span>retbindin</span><span> </span>can help in regulating retinal homeostasis.</p>
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