BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Factor H complements AMD

October 20, 2011 7:00 AM UTC

Researchers in the EU and the U.S. have found what could be the mechanistic underpinnings of the increased risk for age-related macular degeneration in individuals carrying a common polymorphism in the gene for complement factor H.1 The mutant form of the protein, unlike the wild-type version, has an impaired capacity to bind and neutralize proinflammatory malondialdehyde structures.

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a toxic byproduct of lipid peroxidation and can modify DNA and proteins. MDA has been associated with multiple chronic inflammatory diseases including atherosclerosis2 and AMD.3...