Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is characterized in its early stages by the presence of extracellular deposits, known as drusen, that accumulate between the basal surface of the retinal pigmented epithelium and Bruch's membrane, an extracellular matrix complex that separates the neural retina from the capillary network in the choroid. Several studies have shown that drusen contains a variety of protein and lipid components. Although liver is the primary biosynthetic site for most of these molecules, retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells locally synthesize a number of drusen components.