Fig. 6
From: Splenic monocytes drive pathogenic subretinal inflammation in age-related macular degeneration
Schematic representation of the involvement of splenic monocytes in pathogenic inflammation in AMD. Physiologically the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is a master regulator to maintain blood pressure. We here show that the RAS activation and angiotensin II elevation mobilizes splenic monocytes that participate in and aggravate retinal inflammation and associated neovascularization and photoreceptor degeneration. Increased angiotensin II levels in patients compared to controls suggest that similar mechanisms take place in AMD