Cell death, clearance and inflammation: molecular crossroads and gene polymorphisms in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible loss of vision and decrease in quality of life in the elderly. A large number of molecular crossroads between cell death, phagocytosis and inflammation have been described in AMD. The different forms of cell death - apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, necrosis, necroptosis and pyroptosis, have all been studied under different circumstances in the retina and in AMD pathology. Much less is known about the clearance of these dying cells by non- professional (living retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells) and professional (macrophages and dendritic cells) phagocytes. The molecular synapse between the dying cells and the phagocytes is far from complete in relevance to AMD. Gene polymorphism of the phagocytic bridging molecules and those involved in inflammation and angiogenesis further complicate the lock-and-key theory in the clearance of dying cells in AMD. The present review gives an overview of the different risk factors, cell death types and clearance mechanisms in the retina, and their implications to inflammation and angiogenesis in AMD. A correlation of the genetic factors affecting AMD to those of other neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's, Huntington and Parkinson's) is also attempted here.
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2186263101