Ethen Cheryl M, Feng Xiao, Olsen Timothy W, Ferrington Deborah A
Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 Mar;46(3):769-75. doi: 10.1167/iovs.04-0810.
Biochemical analysis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at distinct stages of the disease will help further understanding of the molecular events associated with disease progression. This study was conducted to determine the ability of a new grading system for eye bank eyes, the Minnesota Grading System (MGS), to discern distinct stages of AMD so that retinal region-specific changes in rod photoreceptor protein expression from donors could be determined.
Donor eyes were assigned to a specific level of AMD by using the MGS. Expression of the rod photoreceptor proteins rhodopsin and arrestin was evaluated by Western immunoblot analysis in the macular and peripheral regions of the neurosensory retina from donors at different stages of AMD.
A significant linear decline in both arrestin and rhodopsin content correlated with progressive MGS levels in the macula. In contrast, the peripheral region showed no significant correlation between MGS level and the content of either protein.
The statistically significant relationship between decreasing macular rod photoreceptor proteins and progressive MGS levels of AMD demonstrates the utility of the clinically based MGS to correspond with specific protein changes found at known, progressive stages of degeneration. Future biochemical analysis of clinically characterized donor eyes will further understanding of the pathobiochemistry of AMD.
对年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）不同阶段进行生化分析，将有助于进一步了解与疾病进展相关的分子事件。本研究旨在确定一种用于眼库供体眼的新分级系统——明尼苏达分级系统（MGS）辨别AMD不同阶段的能力，以便能够确定供体视网膜区域特异性视杆光感受器蛋白表达的变化。
使用MGS将供体眼分配至特定的AMD水平。通过蛋白质免疫印迹分析，评估不同AMD阶段供体神经感觉视网膜黄斑和周边区域视杆光感受器蛋白视紫红质和抑制蛋白的表达。
抑制蛋白和视紫红质含量均随黄斑MGS水平升高呈显著线性下降。相比之下，周边区域MGS水平与这两种蛋白的含量之间无显著相关性。
黄斑视杆光感受器蛋白减少与AMD的MGS进展水平之间具有统计学意义的关系，证明了基于临床的MGS与已知进行性变性阶段发现的特定蛋白变化相对应的效用。对具有临床特征的供体眼进行未来的生化分析，将进一步加深对AMD病理生物化学的理解。
