ArticleCell metabolism2013
Impaired cholesterol efflux in senescent macrophages promotes age-related macular degeneration.
Article in Cell metabolism, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 174 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
174 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 269 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding AMD by analogy: systematic review of lipid-related common pathogenic mechanisms in AMD, AD, AS and GN.Lipids in health and disease · 2018Pooled it
- HDL-cholesterol levels and risk of age-related macular degeneration: a multiethnic genetic study using Mendelian randomization.International journal of epidemiology · 2017Pooled it
- Lomitapide modifies high-density lipoprotein function in homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.European journal of medical research · 2025Trial
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil Prevents the Age-Related Shifts of the Distribution of HDL Subclasses and Improves Their Functionality.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Myeloid deficiency of RORα exacerbates lipid dysregulation and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization.Angiogenesis · 2026Article
- Murine models of neovascular AMD revisited: Mechanistic pathways, immune-metabolic crosstalk, and the impact of aging and sex.Experimental eye research · 2026Review
- Host Genetic Regulation of NLRP3 Inflammasome Cytokines Reveals Immune and Vascular Pathways in HIV.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Recent advances in treating age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy: Current therapies and emerging novel approaches.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Interactions Between Epidermal Growth Factor-Containing Fibulin-Like Extracellular Matrix Protein 1 and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases-3 and Relevance to Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Ophthalmology science · 2026Review
- Adipocytes influence choroidal neovascularization via PRDM16.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- PCSK9 Inhibitor Use and the Risk of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Patients with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The roles of glycerophospholipids in the aging retina and age-related macular degeneration.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Review
- Cholesterol efflux protein, ABCA1, supports anticancer functions of myeloid immune cells.Science advances · 2026Article
- PANoptosis-Related Diagnostic Biomarkers in Non-Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: An Integrative Transcriptomic and Experimental Study.Genetics research · 2026Article
- Mapping Macrophage Diversity in Coats' Disease: A Lipid-Associated Subset in the Pathogenesis of Exudative Retinopathy.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Senescent macrophages induce ferroptosis in skeletal muscle and accelerate osteoarthritis-related muscle atrophy.Nature aging · 2025Article
- Apolipoprotein M attenuates age-related macular degeneration phenotypes via sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling and lysosomal lipid catabolism.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Pitavastatin-loaded procyanidins self-assembled nanoparticles alleviate advanced atherosclerosisActa pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2025Article
- Senescent macrophages in cancer: roles in tumor progression and treatment opportunities.Cancer biology & medicine · 2025Review
- Use of SGLT2 Inhibitors Versus DPP-4 Inhibitors and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Patients WithType 2 Diabetes: A Multinational Cohort Study.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
114 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Pathologic angiogenesis mediated by abnormally polarized macrophages plays a central role in common age-associated diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, and macular degeneration. Here we demonstrate that abnormal polarization in older macrophages is caused by programmatic changes that lead to reduced expression of ATP binding cassette transporter ABCA1. Downregulation of ABCA1 by microRNA-33 impairs the ability of macrophages to effectively efflux intracellular cholesterol, which in turn leads to higher levels of free cholesterol within senescent macrophages. Elevated intracellular lipid polarizes older macrophages to an abnormal, alternatively activated phenotype that promotes pathologic vascular proliferation. Mice deficient for Abca1, but not Abcg1, demonstrate an accelerated aging phenotype, whereas restoration of cholesterol efflux using LXR agonists or miR-33 inhibitors reverses it. Monocytes from older humans with age-related macular degeneration showed similar changes. These findings provide an avenue for therapeutic modulation of macrophage function in common age-related diseases.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.