Coordination of age-related macular degeneration pathogenesis by vitronectin

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in older patients. This devastating disease is caused by the build-up of insoluble deposits that impair the transfer of nutrients and waste between choroid capillary and retinal pigment epithelium, leading to the progressive atrophy of adjacent photoreceptors. The AMD deposits contain µm-sized spherical particles (spherules) with a cholesterol-rich lipid core, coated by hydroxyapatite (calcium phosphate hydroxide biomineral), and a top layer of proteins, including the blood protein vitronectin (Vn).