Researchers of the Neurobiology and Neurophysiology team of the Medicine Faculty at Valencia Catholic University (UCV), headed by Dr. Jorge Bacia, have discovered that exosomes – microscopic extracellular vesicles that are released by all cells – from the retinal pigment epithelium lead to cases of neovascularization, a finding that could be closely related to similar processes in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this sense, the UCV researchers say that, in the future, diseases such as AMD will be diagnosed by “analyzing the exosomal content from a blood sample or other biological fluids.” The UCV Medicine Faculty team findings were published online on August 21, 2018 in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. The open-access article is titled “Role of Retinal Pigment Epithelium‐Derived Exosomes And Autophagy In New Blood Vessel Formation.” In the article, the UCV researchers explain how they observed that “if the pigment epithelium cells in the retina are subjected to stress, they release exosomes that facilitate the generation of new blood vessels, in an analogous way to what happens in AMD.” This excessive vessel growth is due to these exosomes containing “a high proportion of the VEGFR-2 protein.” AMD is a disease that causes vision loss and affects elderly people. The disease often becomes apparent with an ‘overgrowth’ of new blood vessels in this area, “vessels which are fragile and very permeable, creating alterations which lead to spots in central vision.” This process especially affects the macula, the retinal area which is responsible for acute vision, “which makes detailed vision more difficult, such as reading”.Login Or Register To Read Full Story