Abstract
Ocular neovascularization is a common pathological feature in diabetic retinopathy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration that can lead to severe vision loss. We evaluated the therapeutic efficacy of a novel endogenous inhibitor of angiogenesis, the calreticulin anti-angiogenic domain (CAD180), and its functional 112-residue fragment, CAD-like peptide 112 (CAD112), delivered using a self-complementary adeno-associated virus serotype 2 (scAAV2) in rodent models of oxygen-induced retinopathy and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. The expression of CAD180 and CAD112 was elevated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells transduced with scAAV2-CAD180 or scAAV2-CAD112, respectively, and both inhibited angiogenic activity in vitro. Intravitreal gene delivery of scAAV2-CAD180 or scAAV2-CAD112 significantly inhibited ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization in rat eyes (CAD180: 52.7% reduction; CAD112: 49.2% reduction) compared to scAAV2-mCherry, as measured in retinal flatmounts stained with isolectin B4. Moreover, the retinal structure and function were unaffected by scAAV2-CAD180 or scAAV2-CAD112, as measured by optical coherence tomography and electroretinography. Moreover, subretinal delivery of scAAV2-CAD180 or scAAV2-CAD112 significantly attenuated laser-induced choroidal neovascularization in mouse eyes compared to scAAV2-mCherry, as measured by fundus fluorescein angiography (CAD180: 62.4% reduction; CAD112: 57.5% reduction) and choroidal flatmounts (CAD180: 40.21% reduction; CAD112: 43.03% reduction). Gene delivery using scAAV2-CAD180 or scAAV2-CAD112 has significant potential as a therapeutic option for the management of ocular neovascularization.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by grants from The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (#1061912), The Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (2015A030310158 and 2014A030313359), The Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (2015B020226003), The Scientific and Cultivation Foundation of the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University (2015201), The fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (21611446), The Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia, The Angior Family Foundation and The Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation. J.H.W. received a R.B. McComas Research Scholarship in Ophthalmology, a Gordon P. Castles Scholarship and a Melbourne Research Scholarship. G.J.D. received a Principal Research Fellowship from NHMRC. The Centre for Eye Research, Australia, received Operational Infrastructure Support from the Victorian Government.
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Conceptualization, L.T., J.Z., and G.S.L. Methodology, L.T., V.A.B., M.H.T., B.V.B., and G.S.L. Formal analysis, L.T., J.H.W., V.A.B., B.V.B., and G.S.L. Investigation, L.T., J.H.W., V.A.B., S.M.P., Z.H., J.B., B.V.B., and G.S.L. Resources, A.E.K., G.J.L., I.E.A., and M.H.T. Data curation, L.T., B.V.B., J.Z., and G.S.L. Writing–original draft, L.T., J.Z., and G.S.L. Writing–review & editing, J.H.W., V.A.B., J.H.L., A.E.K., I.E.A., Y.S.B., G.J.D., and B.V.B. Visualization, L.T., and G.S.L. Supervision, G.J.D., B.V.B., J.Z., and G.S.L. Project administration, L.T., and G.S.L. Funding acquisition, G.J.D., J.Z., and G.S.L.
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Tu, L., Wang, JH., Barathi, V.A. et al. AAV-mediated gene delivery of the calreticulin anti-angiogenic domain inhibits ocular neovascularization. Angiogenesis 21, 95–109 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10456-017-9591-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10456-017-9591-4