The research status and the limitations of mesenchymal stem cell-based therapies in age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the major cause of blindness in the elderly, which mainly affects the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and photoreceptors, and progressively leads to the loss of central vision.AMD can be divided into dry AMD and wet AMD.At present, the treatment of AMD mainly aims at choroidal neovascularization (CNV) associated with wet AMD.However, there is no effective treatment for dry AMD.The common treatment methods include photodynamic therapy (PDT) and intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Furthermore, there are also laser therapy, radiotherapy and surgical treatment.However, at this stage, the clinical treatment methods can not eradicate the causes, and some patients show poor response to treatments.So people began to explore new treatments.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) therapy has the characteristics of self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation potential, lower immunogenicity, easier access to materials and less ethical constraints, showing a broad therapeutic prospect.At present, many studies on the treatment of AMD with MSCs have been carried out at home and abroad, with fruitful results.This article elaborated the classification and treatment status of AMD and their limitations and summarized the research results of MSCs in the treatment of AMD at home and abroad in recent years. Key words: Stem cells, therapy; Mesenchymal stem cells; Age-related macular degeneration; Paracrine activity