Age- and sex- divergent translatomic responses of the retinal pigmented epithelium

Aging is the main risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a retinal neurodegenerative syndrome that leads to irreversible blindness, particularly in people over 60 years old. Retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) atrophy is an AMD hallmark that often precedes photoreceptor loss. Genome-wide chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and gene expression studies of AMD and control RPE demonstrate epigenomic/transcriptomic changes occur during AMD onset and progression. However, mechanisms by which molecular alterations of normal aging impair RPE function and contribute to AMD pathogenesis are unclear. Here, we specifically interrogate the RPE translatome with advanced age and across sexes in a novel mouse model. We find differential age- and sex- associated transcript expression with overrepresentation of pathways related to inflammation in the RPE. Concordant with impaired RPE function, the phenotypic changes in the aged translatome suggest that aged RPE becomes immunologically active, in both males and females, with some sex-specific signatures, which supports the need for sex representation for in vivo studies.