Macrophages inhibit neovascularization in a murine model of age-related macular degeneration.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50 y of age in at least three continents. Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is the process by which abnormal blood vessels develop underneath the retina. CNV develops in 10% of patients with AMD but accounts for up to 90% of the blindness from AMD. Although the precise etiology of CNV in AMD remains unknown, the macrophage component of the inflammatory response, which has been shown to promote tumor growth and support atherosclerotic plaque formation, is thought to stimulate aberrant angiogenesis in blinding eye diseases. The current theory is that macrophage infiltration promotes the development of neovascularization in CNV.

Methods and findings

We examined the role of macrop

SUBMITTER: Apte RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1539093 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature