Complete Transcriptome Profiling Of Normal And Age-Related Macular Degeneration Eye Tissues Reveals Changes In Regulation Of Non-Coding RNA And Extreme Disregulation Of Anti-Sense Transcription

Strand specific RNA sequencing of retina and RPE-Choroid-Scleara (RCS) in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and matched normal controls reveals striking impact on anti-sense transcription and changes in the regulation of non-coding RNA that has not previously been reported. Hundreds of genes, which do not express anti-sense transcripts in normal retina and RCS, demonstrate extreme anti-sense expression in AMD. And conversely anti-sense transcription is completely abrogated in many genes which express a high level of anti-sense transcripts in normal retina and RCS. Several pathways are very highly enriched in the upregulated anti-sense transcripts - in particular the EIF2 signaling pathway. These results call for a deeper investigation into anti-sense and noncoding RNA regulation in AMD and their potential as therapeutic targets.