Abstract
Aims/Purpose: The increasing prevalence of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that can result in the loss of central vision, is an emerging problem worldwide due to aging societies. This creates a challenge for the healthcare system and understanding of the mechanisms of AMD pathogenesis will help in early, personalized, and efficient intervention. Current diagnostic methods rely on optical coherence tomography/angiography imaging, which identifies existing damages, but does not provide information on the mechanisms behind them. In this study, we analyzed mRNAs, lncRNA, and small ncRNAs profiles in the serum of nAMD patients and associated them with anatomical changes observed at the retinal level.Methods: RNA‐Seq analysis of human serum samples from neovascular AMD and control patients.Results: In the present work, we showed the difference in the serum RNA profile between neovascular AMD (nAMD) patients and controls. Moreover, the RNA profile of nAMD patients corresponded with anatomical changes in the retinal fluid compartments and atrophic changes and was affected by intravitreal anti‐vascular endothelial growth factor treatment.Conclusions: Therefore, serum could be used as a target for a liquid biopsy to explore anatomical changes in the eye during nAMD progression and treatment. This finding opens a new pathway in AMD studies, which are limited due to restricted access to live human target material and the limited value of animal models of human AMD.
Published Version
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