Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate the effect of atorvastatin, HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, on experimental choroidal neovascularization (CNV) induced by laser photocagulation in mice.
Methods: :
CNV was experimentally induced by the laser photocoagulation in normal wild–type (C57Bl/6J) mice. The mice orally received atorvastatin 10 mg/kg/day (AS10 group, n=10) or 20 mg/kg/day (AS20 group, n=10) for 3 days prior to laser application. Development of CNV was studied on the basis of dimension measurements obtained by confocal microscopy 1 week after laser application. VEGF protein levels from RPE/choroid lysates were measured by ELISA at 3 days after photocoagulation. Macrophage infiltration to RPE /choroid was quantitatively studied by flow cytemetry getting with F4/80+ cells.
Results: :
Mean CNV area was significantly smaller in the AS10 (non–paired t test, 11249.30±2353.85µm2, p<0.001) and AS20 (13717.13±3357.36µm2, p=0.008) groups compared to control mice (26565.65±3180.67µm2). Mean VEGF levels were significantly reduced in AS10 (62.3±4.7%, p=0.001) and AS20 (52.9±4.5%, p=0.004) groups compared to the controls. The numbers of macrophage infiltrated into the RPE/choroid was also reduced in AS10 (64.2±4.5%, p=0.03) and AS20 (58.5±7.2%, p=0.01) groups.
Conclusions: :
Atorvastatin treatment effectively inhibited the laser–induced CNV in mice. It was associated with the downregulation of VEGF and the reduced macrophage infiltration in the choroids.
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • choroid: neovascularization • cytokines/chemokines