This seminar will also stream via Zoom. For the link, please email: jmarcus@upenn.edu

Robert Mullins
Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
University of Iowa

Annoyed in the choroid: complement activation and its role in macular degeneration

The choroid is the highly vascularized connective tissue that provides support for the overlying retinal pigment epithelium and outer neural retina. Compared with normal aging, the choroid in eyes with age-related macular degeneration undergoes molecular and structural changes including increased deposition of the membrane attack complex and degenerative changes to the choroid’s dense capillary bed, the choriocapillaris. The degeneration of the choriocapillaris frequently precedes the loss of RPE. Understanding the cause and consequences of choriocapillaris degeneration is important in envisioning therapies for AMD. Experiments to understand choroidal dysfunction using molecular tools will be discussed as will potential therapeutic avenues to both protect existing choroidal cells and to replace cells using iPSC technology.