Functions and Diseases of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium

Song Yang; Jun Zhou; Dengwen Li

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.727870

Functions and Diseases of the Retinal Pigment Epithelium

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jul 28:12:727870. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.727870. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Song Yang¹, Jun Zhou^{1

2}, Dengwen Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
² Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology, Collaborative Innovation Center of Cell Biology in Universities of Shandong, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.

Abstract

The retinal pigment epithelium is a fundamental component of the retina that plays essential roles in visual functions. Damage to the structure and function of the retinal pigment epithelium leads to a variety of retinopathies, and there is currently no curative therapy for these disorders. Therefore, studying the relationship between the development, function, and pathobiology of the retinal pigment epithelium is important for the prevention and treatment of retinopathies. Here we review the function of the retinal pigment epithelium and its relevance to the pathobiology, and discuss potential strategies for the treatment of retinopathies. In doing so, we provide new viewpoints outlining new ideas for the future study and treatment of retinopathies.

Keywords: development; disease; function; retina; retinal pigment epithelium; retinopathy; therapy.

Publication types

Review