Rise in Drusen-Related Proteins May Signal Early AMD

Former BrightFocus grantee, Maria Valeria Canto-Soler, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Colorado, including lead investigator Miguel Flores-Bellver, PhD, have shown that retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells continually release exosomes, or nanosized cell particles, that carry genetic information and proteins to neighboring cells. Under normal conditions, these exosomes contain both normal proteins and proteins associated with drusen – the fatty deposits that can build up in the retina as an early indicator of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).