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Progenitor cell combination normalizes retinal vascular development by enhancing pericyte ensheathment in the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model

ABSTRACT: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disorder of the developing retina of preterm infants. ROP can lead to blindness due to abnormal angiogenesis that is the result of suspended vascular development and vaso-obliteration leading to severe retinal stress and hypoxia. We tested the hypothesis that a combined treatment with two human progenitor populations, the CD34+ cells, bone marrow-derived, and the endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) synergistically protected the developing retinal vasculature in a murine model of ROP, the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR)., CD34+ cells alone, ECFCs alone, or a combination thereof were injected intravitreally at either P5 or P12 and pups were euthanized at P17. Retinas from OIR mice injected with ECFCs or the combined treatment revealed formation of the deep vascular plexus (DVP) while still in hyperoxia, with normal appearing connections between the superficial vascular plexus (SVP) and the DVP. The combination therapy prevented aberrant retinal neovascularization and was more effective anatomically and functionally at rescuing the ischemia phenotype than either cell type alone. The beneficial effect of the cell combination was the result of their ability to orchestrate an acceleration of vascular development and more rapid ensheathment of pericytes on the developing vessels.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE135844 | GEO | 2019/12/31

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Background: Retinal neovascularization (RNV) as a result of retinal ischemia, such as in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), can lead to vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment, and irreversible loss of vision if left untreated. Although panretinal laser photocoagulation and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections are efficient treatment modalities, a significant number of patients do not respond to either treatment. This clinical finding suggests that other, previously unrecognized mediators and signaling pathways may contribute to RNV development and could represent valuable targets for future treatments. Methods: In search of phylogenetically conserved angiogenic mediators, we examined the transcriptional profile of murine RNV from C57BL/6J mice (n=14) in the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model as well as human RNV membranes from PDR patients (n=7), who had undergone vitrectomy and compared them with corresponding control tissues (n=13, 10 respectively). Genes that were differentially expressed (DEGs) between RNV and control samples were identified for human and murine samples and their associated gene ontology (GO) clusters analyzed. Lastly, human and murine DEGs were compared to identify phylogenetically conserved factors. Findings: Transcriptional profiles of murine RNV showed that DEGs linked to the activation of the innate immune system (Msn, Cd34), extracellular matrix organisation (Col4a1, Gfap), and regulation of angiogenesis (Col4a2, Fgf2) were significantly upregulated both at the ischemic, preproliferative stage of the disease (OIR p14) as well as at the proliferative stage (OIR p17). While similar GO terms were upregulated in human RNV, only a small overlap in DEGs between both species was detected. Phylogenetically conserved mediators upregulated in both murine and human RNV included ANGPT2, S100A8, MCAM, EDNRA, MRC1, and CCR7. Interpretation: This study identifies phylogenetically conserved inflammatory and pro-angiogenic mediators that are significantly upregulated in both murine and human RNV. Among them, MCAM, ENDRA and MRC1 emerged as the most upregulated, phylogenetically conserved DEGs not yet implicated in human RNV, thus representing potential new treatment targets for ischemic retinal diseases.

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Progenitor cell combination normalizes retinal vascular development by enhancing pericyte ensheathment in the oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model

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