Erschienen in:
01.01.2004 | Review
Basement membranes and artificial substrates in cell transplantation
verfasst von:
Carl Sheridan, Rachel Williams, Ian Grierson
Erschienen in:
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
|
Ausgabe 1/2004
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Excerpt
This article will concentrate largely on the current developments in the area of cell transplantations presented at the 1st Workshop for Cell Transplantation in Age-related Macular Degeneration. In particular, this brief review will address our current understanding of the role of cell–matrix interactions by covering the pathobiology of normal ageing Bruch’s membrane; some of the problems faced at the time of surgery from a basement membrane prospective; the dedifferentiation and differentiation of RPE cells; and how the use of artificial substrates may address several of these issues. We will concentrate on problems related to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Europe, America and other industrialized nations. AMD is likely to be a family of disorders, rather than a single biologic entity, characterized by the progressive loss of sight in the central portion of the visual field [
6,
56,
71,
81]. …