To avoid these issues, we decided to investigate redox-mediated phase transitions in the pigmented Abca4–/– mouse model of Stargardt inherited macular degeneration, which recapitulates many features of early RPE dysfunction observed in AMD, including cholesterol and ceramide accumulation, increased microtubule acetylation, and complement activation (18, 19, 32, 33). This evidence concerns the gene ABCA4 and age-related macular degeneration.