The review says a tiny protein called humanin, which comes from mitochondria, can help protect cells from damage caused by oxidative stress and stress in the endoplasmic reticulum, especially in eye cells linked to age‑related macular degeneration. It works partly by restoring a key antioxidant (glutathione) in mitochondria. While promising, the findings are still at the cell‑culture stage and not yet ready for everyday use.

In this review, the interactive mechanisms of mitochondria with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are discussed with emphasis on the potential protective role of the mitochondria derived peptide humanin (HN) in ER stress. The ER and mitochondria are dynamic organelles capable of modifying their structure and function in response to changing environmental conditions. The ER and mitochondria join together at multiple sites and form mitochondria-ER associated membranes that participate in signal transduction pathways that are under active investigation. Our laboratory previously showed that HN protects cells from oxidative stress induced cell death and more recently, described the beneficial role of HN on ER stress-induced apoptosis in retinal pigment epithelium cells and the involvement of ER-mitochondrial cross-talk in cellular protection. The protection was achieved, in part, by the restoration of mitochondrial glutathione that was depleted by ER stress. Thus, HN may be a promising candidate for therapy for diseases that involve both oxidative and ER stress. Developing novel approaches for retinal delivery of HN, its analogues as well as small molecular weight ER stress inhibitors would prove to be a valuable approach in the treatment of age-related macular degeneration.