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Increased expression of multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, in retinal pigment epithelium induces polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in mice.

ABSTRACT: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. Wet AMD includes typical choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). The etiology and pathogenesis of CNV and PCV are not well understood. Genome-wide association studies have linked a multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, to AMD. However, the precise role of HTRA1 in AMD remains elusive. By transgenically expressing human HTRA1 in mouse retinal pigment epithelium, we showed that increased HTRA1 induced cardinal features of PCV, including branching networks of choroidal vessels, polypoidal lesions, severe degeneration of the elastic laminae, and tunica media of choroidal vessels. In addition, HTRA1 mice displayed retinal pigment epithelium atrophy and photoreceptor degeneration. Senescent HTRA1 mice developed occult CNV, which likely resulted from the degradation of the elastic lamina of Bruch's membrane and up-regulation of VEGF. Our results indicate that increased HTRA1 is sufficient to cause PCV and is a significant risk factor for CNV.

SUBMITTER: Jones A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3167497 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increased expression of multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, in retinal pigment epithelium induces polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in mice.

Jones Alex A Kumar Sandeep S Zhang Ning N Tong Zongzhong Z Yang Jia-Hui JH Watt Carl C Anderson James J Amrita Fillerup Heather H McCloskey Manabu M Luo Ling L Yang Zhenglin Z Ambati Balamurali B Marc Robert R Oka Chio C Zhang Kang K Fu Yingbin Y

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110815 35

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the elderly. Wet AMD includes typical choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). The etiology and pathogenesis of CNV and PCV are not well understood. Genome-wide association studies have linked a multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, to AMD. However, the precise role of HTRA1 in AMD remains elusive. By transgenically expressing human HTRA1 in mouse retinal pigment epit ...[more]

PMID: 21844367

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Project description:PurposeTo evaluate the status and evolution of polypoidal lesions during the course of treatment of patients with symptomatic macular polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).DesignComparative cohort study of randomly selected patients from a multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial.ParticipantsThirty randomly selected patients from the EVEREST II study who were treated with combination ranibizumab and verteporfin photodynamic therapy (n = 15) or ranibizumab monotherapy (n = 15).MethodsAll patients were randomized at baseline and treated with a standardized treatment protocol. Indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) images were graded at the central reading center at baseline and months 3, 6, 12, and 24. Polypoidal lesions present at baseline were overlaid on ICGA images at subsequent visits to determine if these remained perfused or had regressed completely. New polypoidal lesions occurring at subsequent visits were similarly tracked to detail the evolution of each polypoidal lesion.Main outcome measuresComplete polypoidal lesion regression over time.ResultsComplete polypoidal lesion regression was higher in the combination therapy group compared with the monotherapy group at all visits (month 12, 12 of 15 patients [80%] vs. 5 of 14 patients [35.7%]; P = 0.016). Persistence of baseline polypoidal lesions was lower in the combination therapy group: 1 of 15 patients (6.7%) versus 7 of 14 patients (50%) in the monotherapy group at month 12. Recurrences of polypoidal lesions that had regressed completely at an earlier time point were uncommon: 0% in the combination therapy group and 1 patient each at months 6 and 12 in the monotherapy group. Fewer new polypoidal lesions (arising after the baseline visit) were found in the combination therapy group at all visits (combination therapy: 2 of 15 [13.3%] vs. monotherapy: 4 of 14 eyes [28.6%] at month 12). Total polypoidal lesion area was significantly smaller in the combination therapy group compared with the monotherapy group throughout the study (0.013 mm2 vs. 0.110 mm2; P < 0.01 at month 12).ConclusionsCombination therapy was associated with higher rates of complete polypoidal lesion regression and fewer persistent polypoidal lesions compared with monotherapy. Closed polypoidal lesions rarely reopened, regardless of the treatment.

Project description:Background: To identify and functionally annotate cell type-specific gene expression in the human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), a key tissue involved in age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Methodology: RPE, photoreceptor and choroidal cells were isolated from selected freshly frozen healthy human donor eyes using laser microdissection. RNA isolation, amplification and hybridization to 44k microarrays was carried out according to Agilent specifications. Bioinformatics was carried out using Rosetta Resolver, David and Ingenuity software. Principal Findings: Our previous 22k analysis of the RPE transcriptome showed that the RPE has high levels of protein synthesis, strong energy demands, is exposed to high levels of oxidative stress and a variable degree of inflammation. We currently use a complementary new strategy aimed at the identification and functional annotation of RPE-specific expressed transcripts. This strategy takes advantage of the multilayered cellular structure of the retina and overcomes a number of limitations of previous studies. In triplicate, we compared the transcriptomes of RPE, photoreceptor and choroidal cells and we deduced RPE specific expression. We identified at least 114 entries with RPE-specific gene expression. Thirty-nine of these 114 genes also show high expression in the RPE, comparison with the literature showed that 85% of these 39 were previously identified to be expressed in the RPE. In the group of 114 RPE specific genes there was an overrepresentation of genes involved in (membrane) transport, vision and ophthalmic disease. More fundamentally, we found RPE-specific involvement in the RAR-activation, retinol metabolism and GABA receptor signaling pathways. Conclusions: In this study we provide a further specification and understanding of the RPE transcriptome by identifying and analyzing genes that are specifically expressed in the RPE. Six RPE samples, three phot samples, three choroid samples

Dataset Information

Increased expression of multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, in retinal pigment epithelium induces polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in mice.

Publications

Increased expression of multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, in retinal pigment epithelium induces polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in mice.

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