GSE210543
Single cell RNA sequencing reveals transcriptional changes of human choroid and retinal pigment epithelium cells during development, in healthy adult and intermediate age-related macular degeneration
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most prominent cause of blindness in the developed countries. Vision loss in the advanced stages of the disease is caused by atrophy of retinal photoreceptors, overlaying retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choroid endothelial cells. The molecular events that underline the development of these cell types from in utero to adult as well as the progression from the asymptomatic, to intermediate and advanced stages AMD are not yet fully understood. We performed single cell RNA-Sequencing (Seq) of human fetal and adult RPE and choroid, profiling in detail all the cell types and elucidating proliferation, differentiation, antigen pathway presentation and immunomodulation events that characterise the first half of human gestation. Our data demonstrate that progression from fetal to adult state is characterised by an increase in expression of genes involved in oxidative stress response and detoxification from heavy metals, suggesting a better defence against oxidative stress in the adult RPE and choroid tissues. Single cell comparative transcriptional analysis between an intermediate AMD patient and unaffected subject revealed specific loss of RPE and melanocytes in the macular region. While the CECs loss was not supported by our single cell RNA-Seq data, pathway enrichment analyses supported the onset of apoptosis in these cells, suggesting that during the course of AMD pathogenesis, endothelial cells are the most likely cell type to atrophy in the macula of AMD patients. Together these finds provide a rich resource for enhancing our understanding the development of RPE and choroid and the role they play in AMD progression and pathogenesis Overall design: To obtain single cell transcriptome data from developing, and adult RPE and choroid tissue  and identify changes that occur in inetermediate AMD