A novel model of persistent retinal neovascularization for the development of sustained anti-VEGF therapies.

A novel model of persistent retinal neovascularization for the development of sustained anti-VEGF therapies. Exp Eye Res. 2018 May 28;: Authors: Li Y, Busoy JM, Zaman BAA, Woon QTS, Tan GSW, Amutha Barathi V, Cheung N, Wei JJ, Hunziker W, Hong W, Wong TY, Cheung CMG Abstract Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies lead to a major breakthrough in treatment of neovascular retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Current management of these conditions require regular and frequent intravitreal injections to prevent disease recurrence once the effect of the injected drug wears off. This has led to a pressing clinical need of developing sustained release formulations or therapies with longer duration. A major drawback in developing such therapies is that the currently available animal models show spontaneous regression of vascular leakage. They therefore not only fail to recapitulate retinal vascular disease in humans, but also prevent to discern if regression is due to prolonged therapeutic effect or simply reflects spontaneous healing. Here, we described the development of a novel rabbit model of persistent retinal neovascularization (PRNV). Retinal Müller glial are essential for maintaining the integrity of the blood-retinal barrier. Intravitreal injection of DL-alpha-aminoadipic acid (DL-AAA), a selective retinal glial (Müller) cell toxin, results in persistent vascular leaka...
Source: Experimental Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Authors: Tags: Exp Eye Res Source Type: research