Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Retinal Pigment Epithelium Wound Healing

TY - JOUR

T1 - Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Retinal Pigment Epithelium Wound Healing

AU - Sugino, Ilene K.

AU - Wang, Hao

AU - Zarbin, Marco A.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors’ work cited in this review was supported by the National Institutes of Health NEI 09750, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., The Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Lions Eye Research Foundation of New Jersey, The Eye Institute of New Jersey, The William G. & Helen C. Hoffman Foundation, Janice Mitchell Vassar and Ashby John Mitchell Fellowship, The Macula Society, and a gift from Mrs. Georgaynne Holst-Knudsen.

PY - 2003/10

Y1 - 2003/10

N2 - Choroidal new vessel (CNV) excision may improve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by eliminating the source of subretinal bleeding and scarring. Visual recovery after CNV excision is usually poor in AMD patients, probably because of removal of the associated retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), coupled with the inability of native RPE at the edge of the dissection bed to resurface the iatrogenic RPE defect. Experiments using in vitro and in vivo RPE wound-healing models have provided insight into the factors that regulate RPE wound healing in situ. Wound-healing studies using aged submacular human Bruch's membrane in organ culture show that resurfacing of localized RPE defects is influenced by the depth of damage to Bruch's membrane as well as factors that are intrinsic to the aged RPE at the wound edge. The Bruch's membrane organ-culture paradigm provides a surface for RPE wound healing that closely resembles the surface on which RPE must grow after CNV excision in AMD patients. An understanding of the factors that influence RPE wound healing might lead to treatments that stimulate RPE resurfacing and improve visual outcome after CNV excision.

AB - Choroidal new vessel (CNV) excision may improve vision in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by eliminating the source of subretinal bleeding and scarring. Visual recovery after CNV excision is usually poor in AMD patients, probably because of removal of the associated retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), coupled with the inability of native RPE at the edge of the dissection bed to resurface the iatrogenic RPE defect. Experiments using in vitro and in vivo RPE wound-healing models have provided insight into the factors that regulate RPE wound healing in situ. Wound-healing studies using aged submacular human Bruch's membrane in organ culture show that resurfacing of localized RPE defects is influenced by the depth of damage to Bruch's membrane as well as factors that are intrinsic to the aged RPE at the wound edge. The Bruch's membrane organ-culture paradigm provides a surface for RPE wound healing that closely resembles the surface on which RPE must grow after CNV excision in AMD patients. An understanding of the factors that influence RPE wound healing might lead to treatments that stimulate RPE resurfacing and improve visual outcome after CNV excision.

KW - Age-related macular degeneration

KW - Bruch's membrane

KW - Cell migration

KW - Organ culture

KW - Retinal pigment epithelium

KW - Wound healing

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0742269619&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0742269619&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1385/MN:28:2:177

DO - 10.1385/MN:28:2:177

M3 - Article

C2 - 14576455

SN - 0893-7648

VL - 28

SP - 177

EP - 194

JO - Molecular Neurobiology

JF - Molecular Neurobiology

IS - 2

ER -