ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2015
The Project MACULA Retinal Pigment Epithelium Grading System for Histology and Optical Coherence Tomography in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 98 papers.
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Who cites it
98 citing papers in PubMed, 164 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of focal damage in the retinal pigment epithelium layer in serous retinal pigment epithelium detachment.Scientific reports · 2019Trial
- Interpreting Hyperreflective Foci in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Critical Review of Cell Origins, Evolving Terminology and Clinical Utility.Clinical & experimental ophthalmology · 2026Review
- Standardizing Measurement of Complete Retinal Pigment Epithelial and Outer Retinal Atrophy: Classification of Atrophy Meeting Report 8.Ophthalmology. Retina · 2026Article
- Histologic Photoreceptor and Retinal Pigment Epithelium Degeneration in an Eye With Clinically Documented Geographic Atrophy of AMD.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Near-Infrared Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy Reveals Loss of RPE Cell Body Polarity in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Cellular-Scale Photoreceptor Remodeling After Macular Hole Surgery Examined by Adaptive Optics Optical Coherence Tomography.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Hypertransmission and Vision in Aging and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Longitudinal Data From ALSTAR2.American journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Total Retinal Pigment Epithelium Thickness and Reflectivity, in Relation to Histology and Vision, at the Aging-AMD Transition: ALSTAR2 Baseline.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Using adaptive optics to assess hyporeflective clump speed and size in age-related macular degeneration in the PINNACLE Study. (PINNACLE Study Report 6).Eye (London, England) · 2025Article
- Progression Patterns in Foveal-Sparing Geographic Atrophy With Double-Layer Sign Due to Neovascularization or Basal Laminar Deposits.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Observational
- Evaluation of retinal pigment epithelium changes in serous pigment epithelial detachment using synthesized multi-contrast polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Choroidal Hyperreflective Foci Represent a Common Finding Across Different Types of Macular Atrophy.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Hyperreflective Foci Along the Retinal Pigment Epithelium Predict the Onset of Large Choroidal Hypertransmission Defects in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.American journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- A Hydrogel-Based Multiplex Coculture Platform for Retinal Component Cells.ACS applied bio materials · 2025Article
- Quantifications of Outer Retinal Bands in Geographic Atrophy by Comparing Superior Axial Resolution and Conventional OCT.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Photoreceptor Function and Structure in Retinal Areas With Intraretinal Hyperreflective Foci in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Hyperautofluorescent material inside areas of macular atrophy may reveal non-lipofuscin fluorophores in late stage AMD.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Article
- Photoreceptor assessment in age-related macular degeneration.Eye (London, England) · 2025Review
- Fundus Autofluorescence Variation in Geographic Atrophy of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Clinicopathologic Correlation.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Topographic associations of hyperreflective materials in diabetic retinopathy: a multimodal correlation with microvascular pathology, structural remodeling and systemic metabolic dysregulation.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
38 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
purposeTo seek pathways of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) fate in age-related macular degeneration via a morphology grading system; provide nomenclature, visualization targets, and metrics for clinical imaging and model systems.
methodsDonor eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) or choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and one GA eye with previous clinical spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) imaging were processed for histology, photodocumented, and annotated at predefined locations. Retinal pigment epithelial cells contained spindle-shaped melanosomes, apposed a basal lamina or basal laminar deposit (BLamD), and exhibited recognizable morphologies. Thicknesses and unbiased estimates of frequencies were obtained.
resultsIn 13 GA eyes (449 locations), 'Shedding,' 'Sloughed,' and 'Dissociated' morphologies were abundant; 22.2% of atrophic locations had 'Dissociated' RPE. In 39 CNV eyes (1363 locations), 37.3% of locations with fibrovascular/fibrocellular scar had 'Entombed' RPE; 'Sloughed,' 'Dissociated,' and 'Bilaminar' morphologies were abundant. Of abnormal RPE, CNV and GA both had ~35% 'Sloughed'/'Intraretinal,' with more Intraretinal in CNV (9.5% vs. 1.8%). 'Shedding' cells associated with granule aggregations in BLamD. The RPE layer did not thin, and BLamD remained thick, with progression. Granule-containing material consistent with three morphologies correlated to SDOCT hyperreflective foci in the previously examined GA patient.
conclusionsRetinal pigment epithelium morphology indicates multiple pathways in GA and CNV. Atrophic/scarred areas have numerous cells capable of transcribing genes and generating imaging signals. Shed granule aggregates, possibly apoptotic, are visible in SDOCT, as are 'Dissociated' and 'Sloughed' cells. The significance of RPE phenotypes is addressable in longitudinal, high-resolution imaging in clinic populations. Data can motivate future molecular phenotyping studies.
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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.