1. Mechanism of inflammation in age-related macular degeneration: An up-to-date on genetic landmarks
- Author
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Adolfo Sebastiani, Elia Bonomo Roversi, Paola Franceschelli, Francesco Sorrentino, Paolo Perri, Michele Rubini, Carlo Incorvaia, Sergio D'Angelo, Katia De Nadai, Mario R. Romano, Ciro Costagliola, Francesco Semeraro, Francesco Parmeggiani, Parmeggiani, F, Sorrentino, Sf, Romano, Mario, Costagliola, C, Semeraro, F, Incorvaia, C, D’Angelo, S, Perri, P, De Nadai, K, Bonomo Roversi, E, Franceschelli, P, Sebastiani, A, and Rubini, M.
- Subjects
Aging ,genetic structures ,Immunology ,Inflammation ,Review Article ,Disease ,Biology ,medicine.disease_cause ,Proinflammatory cytokine ,Pathogenesis ,Macular Degeneration ,Risk Factors ,lcsh:Pathology ,medicine ,Homeostasis ,Humans ,Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-3 ,Retinal pigment epithelium ,Mechanism (biology) ,Chromosome Mapping ,Genetic Variation ,Complement System Proteins ,Lipase ,Cell Biology ,Macular degeneration ,medicine.disease ,eye diseases ,Oxidative Stress ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Cholesterol ,sense organs ,medicine.symptom ,Oxidative stress ,lcsh:RB1-214 - Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible visual impairment among people over 50 years of age, accounting for up to 50% of all cases of legal blindness in Western countries. Although the aging represents the main determinant of AMD, it must be considered a multifaceted disease caused by interactions among environmental risk factors and genetic backgrounds. Mounting evidence and/or arguments document the crucial role of inflammation and immune-mediated processes in the pathogenesis of AMD. Proinflammatory effects secondary to chronic inflammation (e.g., alternative complement activation) and heterogeneous types of oxidative stress (e.g., impaired cholesterol homeostasis) can result in degenerative damages at the level of crucial macular structures, that is photoreceptors, retinal pigment epithelium, and Bruch’s membrane. In the most recent years, the association of AMD with genes, directly or indirectly, involved in immunoinflammatory pathways is increasingly becoming an essential core for AMD knowledge. Starting from the key basic-research notions detectable at the root of AMD pathogenesis, the present up-to-date paper reviews the best-known and/or the most attractive genetic findings linked to the mechanisms of inflammation of this complex disease.
- Published
- 2013