Laboratory for Experimental Immunology of the Eye, Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), 50931, Cologne, Germany.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2020 Mar;77(5):781-788. doi: 10.1007/s00018-019-03419-4. Epub 2020 Jan 2.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment of the elderly population. Since AMD is a multifactorial age-related disease with various genetic risk factors, the understanding of its complex pathophysiology is still limited. However, animal experiments, genome-wide association data and the molecular profiling of AMD patient samples have highlighted a key role of systemic and local immune processes that contribute to this chronic eye disease. In this overview article, we concentrate on the role of lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes and their interplay in triggering a persistent immune response in the AMD retina. We preferentially review findings from human immune cell analyses and complement these with related findings in experimental models. We conclude that both immune cell types as their signaling network may be a rich source to identify novel molecular targets for immunomodulation in AMD.
年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）是老年人视力损害的主要原因。由于 AMD 是一种具有多种遗传风险因素的多因素与年龄相关的疾病，因此对其复杂病理生理学的理解仍然有限。然而，动物实验、全基因组关联数据和 AMD 患者样本的分子分析突出了系统和局部免疫过程在引发这种慢性眼病中的关键作用。在这篇综述文章中，我们集中讨论淋巴细胞和单核吞噬细胞及其相互作用在触发 AMD 视网膜持续免疫反应中的作用。我们优先审查人类免疫细胞分析的结果，并将这些结果与实验模型中的相关结果相结合。我们的结论是，这两种免疫细胞类型及其信号网络可能是确定 AMD 免疫调节新分子靶标的丰富来源。
