Gene Editing: New Opportunities for the Treatment of Age-related Macular Degeneration

Currently, the population aging is becoming increasingly severe, and the incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has also risen, emerging as an increasingly significant public health concern. This disease affects individuals over 55 years old and poses a threat to the high-resolution central vision necessary for essential human activities. There have been numerous hypotheses and investigations regarding the etiology of AMD. Research indicates that the onset of AMD is associated with factors such as oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, cell necrosis, and drusen. At present, the majority of treatments for neovascular age-related macular degeneration mainly involve injecting anti-VEGF antibodies to inhibit angiogenesis and delay the progression to blindness. In recent years, studies on the correlation between the complement pathway and AMD have been quite prevalent. Moreover, various genetic eye diseases have been treated using gene editing approaches. Hence, this review focuses on the pathogenesis of AMD and its related complement pathway, and provides an outlook on the application of gene editing therapy for AMD.