FIGURE 1.

Overview of the cell death pathways of necrosis, apoptosis and pyroptosis proposed as the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell death mechanism in age‐related macular degeneration (AMD). In necrosis, the necrosome forms a complex with other proteins and attaches to the mitochondrial membrane initiating cell death. Programmed cell death can be triggered using either the intrinsic or extrinsic pathways, which eventually culminates in the activation of caspase 3 and cell death via apoptosis. Pyroptosis can be activated in either caspase 1 dependent or independent manner. Both pathways lead to the generation of a N‐terminal fragment that triggers cell death