A MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS OF AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS TRIGGERED BY GLUCOSE UPTAKE IN CONES

The degenerative disease Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is typically categorized by loss of night vision due to rod degeneration and eventually progressing to daylight-blindness and cone death. Those afflicted with RP rely on aerobic glycolysis to supply the metabolites necessary for renewal and maintenance of the photoreceptors. In this work we mathematically model and investigate the biochemical processes in the retina triggered by glucose catabolism in cones. We develop a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations that describe the experimental work of Le’veillard et al. with Nxnl1 -/- mice and the rod-derived cone viability factor (RdCVF). We utilize our mathematical model and resulting simulations to confirm the reliance of cones on rods. We investigate which processes contribute the most to the renewal of the cone photoreceptors by using Latin Hypercube Sampling and global sensitivity analysis. Through a series of simulations we are able to validate the model and confirm the laboratory results.