A Linkage between Angiogenesis and Inflammation in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Hanna HeloteräKai KaarnirantaPublished in: Cells (2022)
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment in the aging population with a limited understanding of its pathogenesis and the number of patients are all the time increasing. AMD is classified into two main forms: dry and neovascular AMD (nAMD). Dry AMD is the most prevalent form (80-90%) of AMD cases. Neovascular AMD (10-20% of AMD cases) is treated with monthly or more sparsely given intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors, but unfortunately, not all patients respond to the current treatments. A clinical hallmark of nAMD is choroidal neovascularization. The progression of AMD is initially characterized by atrophic alterations in the retinal pigment epithelium, as well as the formation of lysosomal lipofuscin and extracellular drusen deposits. Cellular damage caused by chronic oxidative stress, protein aggregation and inflammatory processes may lead to advanced geographic atrophy and/or choroidal neovascularization and fibrosis. Currently, it is not fully known why different AMD phenotypes develop. In this review, we connect angiogenesis and inflammatory regulators in the development of nAMD and discuss therapy challenges and hopes.
Keyphrases
- age related macular degeneration
- vascular endothelial growth factor
- oxidative stress
- end stage renal disease
- ejection fraction
- endothelial cells
- chronic kidney disease
- peritoneal dialysis
- prognostic factors
- transcription factor
- gene expression
- patient reported outcomes
- signaling pathway
- amino acid
- heat stress
- hiv infected
- smoking cessation
- chemotherapy induced