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Abstract
PURPOSE. The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a family of 9 heparin binding proteins which have been proposed to play key roles in angiogenesis. Basic FGF (bFGF), acidic FGF (aFGF) and FGF5 have previously been demonstrated to be expressed in the normal retina and RPE. In this study, the expression of FGF5 was explored in choroidal neovascular membranes removed from patients with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). METHOD. Three membranes were surgically removed from patients with ARMD, and were fixed, embedded and sectioned for immunohistochemistry. The membranes were immuno-stained with an affinity purified rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against the amino acid sequence for residues 175 to 185 of human FGF5 and visualized with the silver enhanced colloidal gold method for light microscopy. RESULTS. FGF5 was expressed in membranes arising from ARMD, and was found primarily in blood vessels and the surrounding extracellular matrix. CONCLUSIONS. These results suggest that FGF5 may have a functional role in the pathophysiology of ARMD.