Abstract
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex multifactorial disease characterized in its late form by neovascularization (wet type) or geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium cell layer (dry type). The complement system is an intrinsic component of innate immunity. There has been growing evidence that the complement system plays an integral role in maintaining immune surveillance and homeostasis in AMD. Based on the association between the genotypes of complement variants and AMD occurrence and the presence of complement in drusen from AMD patients, the complement system has become a therapeutic target for AMD. However, the mechanism of complement disease propagation in AMD has not been fully understood. This concise review focuses on an overall understanding of the role of the complement system in AMD and its ongoing clinical trials. It provides further insights into a strategy for the treatment of AMD targeting the complement system.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 6851 |
| Journal | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jul 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding: This research was funded by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (grant number 2017R1A2B2005309 (I.-B.K.); 2019R1G1A1100084 (Y.-G.P.)).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Clinical trial
- Complement cascade
- Therapeutics