The National Eye Institute (NEI) awarded a $253,500 Project Grant (CFDA 93.867 - Vision Research) to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) to reconstruct a human blood-retina barrier and perfused vascular system to investigate the role of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) variants in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The research project aims to leverage induced pluripotent stem cell technology and microfluidic approaches to generate a physiologically-relevant in vitro model of the outer blood-retina barrier. This system will be used to study how genetic variations in ApoE, a key lipid transport protein, contribute to drusen formation, retinal pigmented epithelium dysfunction, and microvascular abnormalities associated with AMD pathology. The proposed work seeks to unravel the mechanisms by which different ApoE variants influence AMD initiation and progression, with the goal of identifying potential therapeutic targets related to lipid metabolism.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:01 AM