SMOC2 and atrophic macular degeneration: For example, Huang et al. [103] used affinity-based proteomics to discover 82 proteins significantly altered in geographic atrophy (GA), a late dry AMD form, highlighting Secreted Modular Calcium-binding protein 2 (SMOC2) and IL-6 as promising biomarkers linked to RPE dysfunction and inflammation (Figure 2A).