| Titel | Placental growth factor (PlGF) inhibition reduces choroidal neovascularization in a mouse model for age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) |
| Abstract Nr. | 144 |
| Doel | To evaluate whether and through which mechanism PlGF blockage can inhibit choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in a mouse model of age-related macular degeneration. |
| Methodes | CNV was induced in mice by placing 3 Argon laser burns on the choroid. In a first experiment we compared CNV formation between PlGF knock-out and wild type mice. Secondly, 144 wild-type mice were injected every 2 days with 5, 10, 20 or 40 mg/kg of either an anti-PlGF-antibody, an anti-VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR2) antibody or an irrelevant control antibody. The CNV lesions were evaluated on histological cross-sections. The amount of endothelial cells, pericytes and inflammatory cells in the lesions were morphometrically analyzed after immunostaining for CD31, smooth muscle alpha-actin and F4/80 respectively. |
| Resultaten | CNV formation was significantly reduced in the PlGF knockout mice. The dose-response experiment showed that the 20 mg/kg dose of anti-PlGF significantly reduced the number of vessels in the lesions as compared to control antibody (p= 0.045), although less than a comparable dose of anti-VEGFR2-antibody (p= 0.027). Moreover, smooth muscle cell coverage was significantly increased in the anti-PlGF treated (p= 0.02) and reduced in the anti-VEGFR2 treated mice (p= 0.51) as compared to control mice. Finally, a significant reduction in number of inflammatory cells was observed in the lesions treated with anti-PlGF treated (p= 0.01) but not in the anti-VEGFR-2 treated mice (p= 0.30). |
| Conclusie | Anti-PlGF treatment inhibits CNV formation in a mouse model for ARMD. Both anti-PlGF and anti-VEGFR2 impair capillary growth, but in contrary to VEGFR2 blockage, anti-PlGF also reduces inflammation and promotes vessel maturation. |
| Naam | VAN DE VEIRE |
| Initialen | S |
| Instituut | KULeuven |
| Stad | Leuven |
| Naam | Moons |
| Initialen | L |
| Instituut | KULeuven |
| Stad | Leuven |
| Naam | Vinores |
| Initialen | S |
| Instituut | KULeuven |
| Stad | Leuven |
| Naam | Carmeliet |
| Initialen | P |
| Instituut | KULeuven |
| Stad | Leuven |
| Naam | Stalmans |
| Initialen | I |
| Instituut | KULeuven |
| Stad | Leuven |