With evidence of lipoprotein synthesis by the RPE and lipoprotein accumulation in Bruch's membrane, we next aged the animals to determine the extent that BlinDs and drusen develop. We also looked for RPE changes such as basolateral infoldings loss, a marker of epithelial injury,
40–42 and cytoplasmic vacuoles, which develop in the RPE that overlie drusen,
5 as indicators of RPE degeneration associated with AMD. The retinal pigment epithelium of 12-month-old WT (
n = 5) and apoB100 mice (
n = 5) fed a normal chow diet appeared healthy (
Fig. 6). Bruch's membrane maintained a pentalaminar structure composed of the RPE basement membrane, inner collagenous layer, middle elastic layer, outer collagenous layer, and choriocapillaris basement membrane. When present, basal laminar deposits were thin and of homogeneous composition, which is characteristic of aging, but not AMD. Outer collagenous layer deposits and reduplication of the choriocapillaris basement membrane, both normal aging changes,
43,44 were also present. The choriocapillaris endothelium appeared healthy with fenestrations. Neither the 12-month-old WT nor apoB100 mice showed immunohistochemical evidence of oxidized LDL in Bruch's membrane using the E06 antibody or complement C3 as an indicator of complement activation (not shown). Likewise, RPE apoptosis, a hallmark change in AMD,
4 was not observed with TUNEL labeling (data not shown).
We therefore, aged mice until 18 months, and found that the RPE of WT (
n = 5) and apoB100 mice (
n = 5) had normal appearing RPE with preserved basolateral infoldings, and minimal to no cytoplasmic membranous vacuoles (
Fig. 7). Bruch's membrane had thin, homogeneous basal laminar deposits, and did not display labeling for oxidized lipoproteins or basal deposits, C3 immunolabeling, or evidence of RPE apoptosis (data not shown).