Abstract
Presentation Description :
Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and associated loss of retinal and choroidal vessels are hallmarks of the early stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and AMD, respectively. Since vascular atrophy is considered to be a risk factor for end-stage neovascularization associated with these conditions, there is great interest in understanding how retinal and choroidal ECs become dysfunctional early on in diabetes and aging. Work in our lab has identified vascular ‘stiffening’ as a new paradigm of EC dysfunction associated with early DR and AMD. In this talk, I will present our recent findings that reveal that retinal and choroidal vessels and ECs undergo significant stiffening in diabetes and aging that, in turn, exacerbates the inflammatory effects of high glucose and complement activation, major risk factors for DR and AMD. The mechanotransduction pathway mediating the effects of vascular stiffening on ECs will also be discussed. By uncovering the previously unknown relationship between vascular stiffening and EC dysfunction associated with diabetes and aging, this research has the potential to identify new classes of molecular targets for effective DR and AMD therapies in the future.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.