The Aged Retinal Pigment Epithelium/Choroid: A Potential Substratum for the Pathogenesis of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (original) (raw)
Figure 6
Activation of complement pathway in RPE/choroid of old animals.
(A) Comparison of protein levels of C1q and C3 in RPE/choroid of young (Y, n = 3) and old (O, n = 3) mice by immunoblot. Both C1q and C3 are increased in aged RPE/choroids. β-actin was used as a loading control. (B–E) C3 deposition (red) in RPE/choroids. (B) C3 staining shows a thin and continuous line at Bruch's membrane in young animals (arrows). (C–E) In old animals, C3 deposition shows large and discontinuous clumps at Bruch's membrane (arrows). Scale bar = 50 µm (B–D) or 20 µm (E).