gms | German Medical Science

VI. International Symposium on AMD – Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Emerging Concepts – Exploring known and Identifying new Pathways

11. - 12.09.2015, Baden-Baden

Drusen biogenesis – role of hydroxyapatite?

Meeting Abstract

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  • Imre Lengyel - London

VI. International Symposium on AMD – Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Emerging Concepts – Exploring known and Identifying new Pathways. Baden-Baden, 11.-12.09.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc15amd18

doi: 10.3205/15amd18, urn:nbn:de:0183-15amd182

Veröffentlicht: 1. Oktober 2015

© 2015 Lengyel.
Dieser Artikel ist ein Open-Access-Artikel und steht unter den Lizenzbedingungen der Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (Namensnennung). Lizenz-Angaben siehe http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.


Gliederung

Text

Drusen formation is a hallmark of age-related macular degeneration and is now associated with conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementias. Therefore, understanding drusen biogenesis could provide an early window to the molecular events associated with degenerative diseases of the retina and the brain. Recently, we unexpectedly discovered that hydroxyapatite (HAP), the mineral form of calcium phosphate found in bones and teeth, is present in sub-RPE deposits in the human retina. It is distinct in chemical form and location from previously identified forms of calcification in the aging retina. The hydroxyapatite took the form of hollow, average 2(0.5-20) μm diameter spherules, which we found were coated with proteins like vitronectin, complement factor H, and amyloid beta, characteristically found in drusen and sub-RPE deposits. The unusual protein coating and the identification of spherules not in deposits suggested that deposition of HAP "seeded" the growth of sub-RPE deposits, and that the HAP might thus be involved in the initial steps leading to the development of AMD. Since these original findings, we carried out further investigations in tissues as well as cell culture and made intriguing observations about how HAP formation is indeed an early event in drusen biogenesis providing a new understanding of the early molecular events leading to eventually to blindness. Given that these molecular events are taking place very early on there is an opportunity to develop novel detection and intervention strategies for drusen growth based on HAP to limit or prevent the development of visual loss at an advanced age.