How Retinal Cells Drive Inflammation in Age Related Macular Degeneration

The goal of this project is to understand how retinal support cells drive immune cell recruitment and inflammation in age-related macular degeneration, with the aim of identifying new treatment targets.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes the loss of central vision as key retinal cells deteriorate. Inflammation plays a major role, and immune cells from the blood can enter the retina and worsen damage. This project will test whether support cells in the retina, called Müller glia, send signals that attract these immune cells. By blocking one of their major signaling pathways, we aim to reduce harmful immune cells from entering the tissue and reduce the disease progression in models of AMD.

This project is innovative because it positions Müller glia as active regulators of immune cell recruitment and inflammation in age-related macular degeneration, rather than passive responders to retinal injury. It also introduces a new animal model for dry AMD that has not previously been used in this context, alongside complementary wet AMD models, to more directly test how shared signaling pathways may drive disease progression across AMD subtypes.

This project could benefit the public by identifying new biological pathways that drive inflammation and retinal damage in age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss. By clarifying how Müller glia contribute to disease progression, it may reveal new therapeutic targets that could be used to slow or prevent vision loss in both dry and wet forms of AMD. In the long term, these findings could support the development of more effective treatments to preserve vision and improve quality of life for patients.