Abstract
Purpose :
To determine the role of choroidal pericytes in subretinal fibrotic scar formation during pathogenesis of wet AMD.
Methods :
Collagen1α1-GFP reporter mice were used to lineage-trace choroidal pericytes with GFP expression. After laser-induced photocoagulation, a widely used model for wet AMD, antigenic profiles of infiltrating pericytes and other cells were obtained. Patterns of extracellular matrix (ECM) components were also determined by immunostaining.
Results :
Pericytes associated with choroidal microvasculature are the major contributors to subretinal lesion after photocoagulation. Activated pericytes proliferate, migrate into the subretinal space and demarcate the distribution of ECM deposits characteristic of fibrotic scar. Systemic inhibition of PDGFR signaling attenuates pericyte infiltration and deposition of ECM components.
Conclusions :
Our results definitively identify choroidal pericytes as a novel and significant source of subretinal fibrotic scar after photocoagulation. We suggest that PDGFR signaling blockade may be a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent pericyte infiltration and subretinal fibrosis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.