Ref-1 redox activity regulates retinal neovascularization by modulating transcriptional activation of HIF-1α.

ABSTRACT: Retinal neovascularization impairs visual function and is a hallmark of several neovascular eye diseases, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Current treatments include intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) biologics, but these therapeutics are often accompanied by high treatment burden and resistance to therapy. Prior studies indicate that APE1/Ref-1, a multifunctional protein with both endonuclease (APE1) and redox-mediated transcriptional regulatory activity (Ref-1), activates multiple pro-angiogenic and pro-inflammatory signaling pathways by chemically reducing key cysteine residues in transcription factors, thereby activating them. Here, we investigated the previously unexplored role of Ref-1 in r

SUBMITTER: Hartman GD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792779 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature