Abstract
Purpose:
Recent studies has revealed that angiopoietin-like 2 (Angptl2) has an important role in angiogenesis, chronic inflammation, and macrophage infiltration. Although these changes are involved in the pathogenesis of age-relaeted macular degeneration (AMD), little is known about Angptl2 in AMD. In this study we investigated expression of angptl2 during generation of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in mice.
Methods:
Male C57BL/6 mice were anesthetized and CNV was induced by laser-photocoagulation. Mice were sacrificed one, two, or three days after laser injury, and eye samples were obtained. Immunohistochemistry for RPE65 (RPE specific marker) and F4/80 (macrophage specific marker) were performed with nuclear counter staining with Hoechst 33258. Real-time PCR was performed using the whole retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid complex sample to examine the mRNA levels of Angptl2, and its receptors, integrins α5, β1, and pirb, which were normalized to gapdh.
Results:
In the laser-induced CNV model, Angptl2 was localized in the RPE and macrophages. Increase in the mRNA levels of integrins α5, β1, and pirb were all obvious in the whole RPE-choroid complex of this model, although the increase in Angple2 was not detected, in the early phase of CNV generation.
Conclusions:
The current data proposed the possibility of Angptl2 signal’s involvement via integrin and/or pirb in the pathogenesis of CNV. Further study will unravel the role of Angptl2 in the CNV generataion.
Keywords: 453 choroid: neovascularization •
554 immunohistochemistry •
440 candidate gene analysis