Abstract
Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are specialized, multifunctional cells in the retina that form a monolayer of cuboidal, polarized cells adjoining the photoreceptor cells. The RPE are a critical component of the blood-retinal barrier, and they play essential functional roles for maintenance of retinal homeostasis and for support and health of photoreceptors. Age-dependent, progressive dysfunction and death of RPE cells and the resultant loss of photoreceptors contribute significantly to the development and progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other retinal degenerative diseases. Several different RPE cell culture models have been developed and utilized extensively as surrogates for cellular and molecular examinations of the RPE, and a large body of knowledge on RPE function in normal and pathological scenarios has been amassed in studies with cultured RPE. Proteomics has been an integral part of research efforts aimed to advance our understanding of RPE cell biology in health and disease. This review focuses on applications of proteomics to in vitro qualitative and quantitative investigation of human RPE cell culture models. The disease context discussed focuses on AMD.
Highlights
Despite the prevalence of visual disorders in the population worldwide, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of many eye diseases remains incomplete
This review focuses on the contribution of proteomics to our understanding of the biology of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) under physiological conditions and during the development of a common retinal degenerative disease of the elderly: age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
Comparative studies of differentially expressed proteins in various in vitro models of RPE have been used to characterize the expression of markers characteristic of native RPE cells, in order to identify molecular mechanisms involved in cellular response to external stimuli and to identify the molecular pathways altered in diseased cells, e.g., AMD-derived RPE cells
Summary
Despite the prevalence of visual disorders in the population worldwide, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of many eye diseases remains incomplete. For close to two decades, proteomics has been an inherent component of research efforts in vision science aimed at improvement of mechanistic understanding of eye function in health and disease. Eye Proteome Project (EyeOme) was initiated as part of the Human Proteome Project [1] and, to date, proteomes in different compartments of the eye have been characterized in this endeavor [2,3]. This review focuses on the contribution of proteomics to our understanding of the biology of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) under physiological conditions and during the development of a common retinal degenerative disease of the elderly: age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
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