Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Oct 1;21(19):7279.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21197279.

Novel Programmed Cell Death as Therapeutic Targets in Age-Related Macular Degeneration?

Ming Yang  1 , Kwok-Fai So  1   2 , Wai Ching Lam  1 , Amy Cheuk Yin Lo  1
Affiliations
Review

Novel Programmed Cell Death as Therapeutic Targets in Age-Related Macular Degeneration?

Ming Yang et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of severe visual loss among the elderly. AMD patients are tormented by progressive central blurring/loss of vision and have limited therapeutic options to date. Drusen accumulation causing retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell damage is the hallmark of AMD pathogenesis, in which oxidative stress and inflammation are the well-known molecular mechanisms. However, the underlying mechanisms of how RPE responds when exposed to drusen are still poorly understood. Programmed cell death (PCD) plays an important role in cellular responses to stress and the regulation of homeostasis and diseases. Apart from the classical apoptosis, recent studies also discovered novel PCD pathways such as pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis, which may contribute to RPE cell death in AMD. This evidence may yield new treatment targets for AMD. In this review, we summarized and analyzed recent advances on the association between novel PCD and AMD, proposing PCD's role as a therapeutic new target for future AMD treatment.

Keywords: cell damage; homeostasis; ocular stress; retina; vision.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The potential novel disease mechanisms of RPE cell death in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Figure 2
Figure 2
A schematic diagram of the association between novel programmed cell death and AMD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Adams M.K.M., Simpson J.A., Aung K.Z., Makeyeva G.A., Giles G.G., English D.R., Hopper J., Guymer R.H., Baird P.N., Robman L.D. Abdominal Obesity and Age-related Macular Degeneration. Am. J. Epidemiol. 2011;173:1246–1255. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Flaxman S.R., Bourne R.R.A., Resnikoff S., Ackland P., Braithwaite T., Cicinelli M.V., Das A., Jonas J.B., Keeffe J., Kempen J.H., et al. Global causes of blindness and distance vision impairment 1990-2020: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob. Health. 2017;5:e1221–e1234. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30393-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Joachim N., Mitchell P., Burlutsky G., Kifley A., Wang J.J. The Incidence and Progression of Age-Related Macular Degeneration over 15 Years The Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2015;122:2482–2489. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2015.08.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fritsche L.G., Fariss R.N., Stambolian D., Abecasis G.R., Curcio C.A., Swaroop A. Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Genetics and Biology Coming Together. Annu. Rev. Genom. Hum. Genet. 2014;15:151–171. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-090413-025610. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhao S., Lan X., Wu J., Yue S., Zhang H., Wu Q., Zhang G., Liu L. Protocol of global incidence and progression of age-related macular degeneration: A systematic review. Medicine. 2019;98:e14645. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000014645. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms