systemic complement activation in age-related macular degeneration全身补体的激活在年龄相关性黄斑变性.pdfVIP

Systemic Complement Activation in Age-Related Macular Degeneration 1. 1. 2 1 3 Hendrik P. N. Scholl , Peter Charbel Issa , Maja Walier , Stefanie Janzer , Beatrix Pollok-Kopp , ¨ 3 4 5 2 2 Florian Borncke , Lars G. Fritsche , Ngaihang V. Chong , Rolf Fimmers , Thomas Wienker , Frank G. 1 4 3 Holz , Bernhard H. F. Weber , Martin Oppermann * 1 Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 2 Institute of Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, ¨ ¨ 3 Department of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, University of Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany, 4 Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany, 5 Oxford Eye Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom Abstract Dysregulation of the alternative pathway (AP) of complement cascade has been implicated in the pathogenesis of age- related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. To further test the hypothesis that defective control of complement activation underlies AMD, parameters of complement activation in blood plasma were determined together with disease-associated genetic markers in AMD patients. Plasma concentrations of activation products C3d, Ba, C3a, C5a, SC5b-9, substrate proteins C3, C4, factor B and regulators factor H and factor D were quantified in patients (n = 112) and controls (n = 67). Subjects were