Through histochemistry and immunohistochemistry many of the components of basal deposits, characteristic lesions of early AMD, which are also risk factors for progression of AMD, have been identified to date, including but not limited to, esterified and unesterified cholesterol, cholesterol carriers including apolipoproteins, clusterin, vitronectin, components of the complement pathway, and proteoglycans11,22,66,69,70. The gene discussed is VTN; the disease is age-related macular degeneration.