Abstract
Purpose :
To determine the effects of neutralizing antibodies against PDGFRα, PDGFRβ, PDGF-B, and PDGF-D on the developing mouse retinal vasculature.
Methods :
C57BL/6NTac pups were injected subcutaneously with either 3mg/kg or 25mg/kg of anti-PDGFRα, anti-PDGFRβ, anti-PDGF-B, anti-PDGF-D antibodies or control Fc protein, at post-natal day two (P2). Eyes from these pups were harvested at post-natal day five (P5). Retinas were dissected from these eyes, stained, imaged and analyzed. Pericyte coverage was assessed using anti-NG2-chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (Millipore) and vasculature was visualized using GS Lectin I (Vector Labs).
Results :
At 3mg/kg, anti-PDGFRβ treatment resulted in substantial pericyte depletion, and at 25mg/kg, almost complete pericyte depletion, abnormal blood vessel density and decreased blood vessel length. At 3mg/kg, anti-PDGF-B and anti-PDGF-D antibodies had no effect on retinal pericytes and blood vessel morphology. At a dose of 25mg/kg, anti-PDGF-B treated retinas showed partial pericyte depletion. Blocking PDGFRα had no effect on blood vessels or pericytes, at either dose.
Conclusions :
Blocking PDGFRβ was highly effective at depleting pericytes from the developing retinal vasculature, while inhibiting either individual ligand for this receptor, or PDGFRα, was not.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.