Figure 1.

Fas as a regulator of cell death and inflammation in AMD. Disease stress leads to Fas activation in retinal cells and induces Fas signaling, which triggers (1) cell death signaling cascades and (2) production of cytokines and chemokines through the activation of inflammatory pathways. These molecules contribute to the inflammatory microenvironment and (3) recruit additional immune cells that bring more Fas ligand to the retina. These recruited immune cells also (4) activate nearby immune cells, leading to the production of additional inflammatory cytokines. This amplifies and propagates the inflammatory microenvironment and the cycle of retinal cell death and vision loss.