Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 28.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012;723:83–90. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-0631-0_12

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Hypothetical schematic showing possible outcomes for aging and AMD on autophagy in RPE cells. Young: Autophagy will occur at a basal level and remove dysfunctional organelles and aggregates. Formation of autophagosomes, fusion of these with lysosomes and clearance are all balanced. Lipofuscin in residual bodies is minimally present. Sub-RPE drusen is absent. Old: Autophagy is increased in the old RPE cells compared to young, in line with the increased accumulation of aggregates and damaged organelles with age that need to be cleared. Levels of lipofuscin in residual bodies are increased and drusen are present. AMD: Autophagy is dysfunctional in the RPE of AMD patients. Although autophagosome formation may be equivalent to an old RPE cell, fusion with the lysosomes and degradation of the engulfed material may be greatly impaired leading to an accumulation of autophagosomes. The cell is laden with secondary lysosomes containing partially degraded material, there are high levels of lipofuscin and sub RPE drusen are prominent.