BST2 and age-related macular degeneration: In another study, treatment of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells with amyloid-β1-40, a known inflammatory trigger in Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) caused a significant induction of inflammatory genes such as BST2, STAT1, RSAD2, MX2, OAS1&2, IFNL44 and LXN43.