International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Complement System and Potential Therapeutics in Age-Related Macular Degeneration Young Gun Park 1, Yong Soo Park 2 and In-Beom Kim 2,3,4,* 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea;
[email protected] 2 Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea;
[email protected] 3 Catholic Neuroscience Institute, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea 4 Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +82-2-2258-7263 Abstract: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex multifactorial disease characterized in its late form by neovascularization (wet type) or geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium cell layer (dry type). The complement system is an intrinsic component of innate immunity. There has been growing evidence that the complement system plays an integral role in maintaining immune surveillance and homeostasis in AMD. Based on the association between the genotypes of complement variants and AMD occurrence and the presence of complement in drusen from AMD patients, the complement system has become a therapeutic target for AMD. However, the mechanism of complement disease propagation in AMD has not been fully understood. This concise review focuses on an overall understanding of the role of the complement system in AMD and its ongoing clinical trials. It provides further insights into a strategy for the treatment of AMD targeting the complement system.