Both results demonstrated that soluble FLT-1 was strikingly decreased in the RPE and photoreceptor layers in all AMD (n = 3) and RAP eyes (n = 3) compared with age matched controls, respectively (Figure 1A, Figure 2—figure supplement 3); conversely, as has been previously reported, VEGF-A was upregulated significantly in the retina of AMD eyes (Ambati et al., 2003b). This evidence concerns the gene FLT1 and age-related macular degeneration.