Luo L, Uehara H, Zhang X, Das SK, Olsen T, Holt D, Simonis JM, Jackman K, Singh N, Miya TR, Huang W, Ahmed F, Bastos-Carvalho A, Le YZ, Mamalis C, Chiodo VA, Hauswirth WW, Baffi J, Lacal PM, Orecchia A, Ferrara N, Gao G, Young-Hee K, Fu Y, Owen L, Albuquerque R, Baehr W, Thomas K, Li DY, Chalam KV, Shibuya M, Grisanti S, Wilson DJ, Ambati J, Ambati BK. Photoreceptor avascular privilege is shielded by soluble VEGF receptor-1.
eLife 2013;
2:e00324. [PMID:
23795287 PMCID:
PMC3687373 DOI:
10.7554/elife.00324]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2012] [Accepted: 05/08/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Optimal phototransduction requires separation of the avascular photoreceptor layer from the adjacent vascularized inner retina and choroid. Breakdown of peri-photoreceptor vascular demarcation leads to retinal angiomatous proliferation or choroidal neovascularization, two variants of vascular invasion of the photoreceptor layer in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of irreversible blindness in industrialized nations. Here we show that sFLT-1, an endogenous inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A), is synthesized by photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and is decreased in human AMD. Suppression of sFLT-1 by antibodies, adeno-associated virus-mediated RNA interference, or Cre/lox-mediated gene ablation either in the photoreceptor layer or RPE frees VEGF-A and abolishes photoreceptor avascularity. These findings help explain the vascular zoning of the retina, which is critical for vision, and advance two transgenic murine models of AMD with spontaneous vascular invasion early in life. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00324.001.
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