An angiogenic role for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in choroidal neovascularization
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE56983 | GEO | 2015/01/01
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA245110
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:We report that decreased expression and activity of AhR exacerbates murine neovascular age-related macular degeneration, and increases cell migration and tube formation. The mechanism involves increased expression of pro-angiogenic mediators and altered matrix degradation. The results of our study suggest that the AhR signaling pathway may be important in multiple AMD related pathways. Gene expression analysis in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid tissue from AhR knockout mice contrasted against wild-type age-matched controls.
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Project description:Patients with neovascular AMD (nAMD) suffer vision loss from destructive angiogenesis, termed choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Macrophages are found in CNV lesions from nAMD patients. Additionally, Ccr2-/- mice, which lack classical monocyte-derived macrophages, show reduced CNV size. However, macrophages are highly diverse cells that can perform multiple functions. We performed single-cell RNA-sequencing on immune cells from wildtype and Ccr2-/- eyes to uncover macrophage heterogeneity during the laser-induced CNV mouse model of nAMD. We identified 12 macrophage subtypes, including Spp1+ macrophages. Spp1+ macrophages were enriched from wildtype lasered eyes and expressed a pro-angiogenic transcriptome via multiple pathways, including vascular endothelial growth factor signaling, endothelial cell sprouting, cytokine signaling, and fibrosis. Additionally, Spp1+ macrophages expressed the marker CD11c, and CD11c+ macrophages were increased by laser and present in CNV lesions. Finally, CD11c+ macrophage depletion reduced CNV size by 40%. These findings broaden our understanding of ocular macrophage heterogeneity and implicate CD11c+ macrophages as a potential therapeutic target for treatment-resistant nAMD patients.
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Project description:Visual outcome of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration has significantly improved during the last years as a result of anti-VEGF therapy. However, some patients show persistent exudation and decreasing visual acuity despite recurrent anti-VEGF injections, indicating a role of other proangiogenic mediators. The present study applied transcriptional profiling of human and mouse CNV membranes each with reference to healthy control tissue to identify novel mediators of CNV. Following this approach, the study identifies Fibroblast growth factor induci-ble-14 (FN14) as a novel phylogenetically conserved mediator of CNV. Blocking the pathway by intravitreal injection of an FN14 decoy receptor modulates the cytokine profile - most notably IL-6 - and leads to a significant and IL-6 mediated reduction of CNV size in vivo. These results identify FN14 as a promising new therapeutic target for neovascular AMD, which may potentially be beneficial in patients with exudative AMD with special regard to anti-VEGF resistant cases.
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Project description:Many diseases that affect the heart, brain, and even the eyes originate from vascular pathology, emphasizing the role of vascular regulation. In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), excessive growth of abnormal blood vessels in the eye (choroidal neovascularization) ultimately leads to detachment of retinal pigment epithelium and decreased vision, indicating the importance of choroidal neovascularization in the treatment of age-related diseases. The circadian clock in the mammalian retina regulates various retinal functions, enabling the retina to adapt to the light dark cycle. Emerging evidence suggests a link between circadian clock and retinopathy, but the causal relationship has not yet been determined.
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Project description:Neovascular age-related macular degeneration represents the most common cause of blindness in the western world. Alterations of the outer Blood-retina barrier integrity and a localized inflammatory microenvironment lead to sprouting of choroidal neovascularization in intimate contact with surrounding myeloid cells and ultimately lead to visual impairment. The discovery of novel targets interfering with angiogenesis and inflammation is vital for the future treatments in AMD patients. To identify novel potential targets in the local phagocytes of the retina, microglia, we performed a comprehensive RNA-seq analysis in the mouse model of laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (mCNV). Here, we identified the angiogenic factor Osteopontin (Opn), also known as "secreted phosphoprotein 1” (Spp1), to be one of the most highly expressed genes in retinal microglia in the course of CNV formation. We could confirm the presence of SPP1 at the lesion site in recruited retinal microglia of Cx3cr1CreER:Rosa26-Tomato reporter mice using immunohistochemistry and in whole retinal tissue lysates by ELISA compared to controls highlighting a massive local production of SPP1. Inhibition of SPP1 by intravitreal injection of anti-SPP1 antibody significantly increased the lesion size compared to IgG-treated control eyes. In line with the results in rodents, we found an increased SPP1 mRNA expression in surgically extracted human choroidal neovascular (hCNV) membranes by the quantitative RNA-seq approach of massive analysis of cDNA ends (MACE) and found numerous IBA1+SPP1+ myeloid cells in human CNV membranes. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of SPP1 in the formation of CNV and potentially offer new opportunities for therapeutic intervention by inhibiting the SPP1 pathway.
2021-02-16 | GSE160011 | GEO
Project description:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a heterodimeric transcriptional regulator with pleiotropic functions in xenobiotic metabolism and detoxification, vascular development and cancer. Herein, we report a previously undescribed role for the AhR signalling pathway in the pathogenesis of the wet, neovascular subtype of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly in the Western world. Comparative analysis of gene expression profiles of aged AhR(-/-) and wild-type (wt) mice, using high-throughput RNA sequencing, revealed differential modulation of genes belonging to several AMD-related pathogenic pathways, including inflammation, angiogenesis and extracellular matrix regulation. To investigate AhR regulation of these pathways in wet AMD, we experimentally induced choroidal neovascular lesions in AhR(-/-) mice and found that they measured significantly larger in area and volume compared to age-matched wt mice. Furthermore, these lesions displayed a higher number of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1-positive (Iba1(+) ) microglial cells and a greater amount of collagen type IV deposition, events also seen in human wet AMD pathology specimens. Consistent with our in vivo observations, AhR knock-down was sufficient to increase choroidal endothelial cell migration and tube formation in vitro. Moreover, AhR knock-down caused an increase in collagen type IV production and secretion in both retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) and choroidal endothelial cell cultures, increased expression of angiogenic and inflammatory molecules, including vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) in RPE cells, and increased expression of secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) and transforming growth factor-?1 (TGF?1) in choroidal endothelial cells. Collectively, our findings identify AhR as a regulator of multiple pathogenic pathways in experimentally induced choroidal neovascularization, findings that are consistent with a possible role of AhR in wet AMD. The data discussed in this paper have been deposited in NCBI's Gene Expression Omnibus; GEO Submission No. GSE56983, NCBI Tracking System No. 17021116.
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Project description:The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand activated transcription factor, initially discovered for its role in regulating xenobiotic metabolism. There is extensive evidence supporting a multi-faceted role for AhR, modulating physiological pathways important in cell health and disease. Recently we demonstrated that the AhR plays a role in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly. We found that loss of AhR exacerbates choroidal neovascular (CNV) lesion formation in a murine model. Herein we tested the therapeutic impact of AhR activation on CNV lesion formation and factors associated with aberrant neovascularization. We screened a panel of synthetic drugs and endogenous AhR ligands, assessed their ability to activate AhR in choroidal endothelial cells, and inhibit angiogenesis in vitro. Drugs with an anti-angiogenic profile were then administered to a murine model of CNV. Two compounds, leflunomide and flutamide, significantly inhibited CNV formation concurrent with positive modifying effects on angiogenesis, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and fibrosis. These results validate the role of the AhR pathway in regulating CNV pathogenesis, identify mechanisms of AhR-based therapies in the eye, and argue in favor of developing AhR as a drug target for the treatment of neovascular AMD.
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Project description:The purpose of the study was to investigate the roles and possible functions of the miRNAs and tsRNAs in choroidal neovascularization (CNV).The mouse model of laser-induced CNV was conducted by laser photocoagulation and the samples were collected 7 days after laser treatment. The expression profiles of miRNAs and tsRNAs were accessed by small RNA sequencing in RPE-choroid-sclera complexes of mice in CNV group and controls. Our study identified differential expressions of miRNAs and tsRNAs in CNV model, and these altered miRNAs and tsRNAs might be novel potential targets in treating CNVs in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.
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Project description:VAF347 is a low molecular weight compound which inhibits allergic lung inflammation in vivo. This effect is likely due to a block of dendritic cell (DC) function to generate pro-inflammatory T-helper (Th) cells since VAF347 inhibits IL-6, CD86 and HLA-DR expression by human monocyte derived DC, three relevant molecules for Th-cell generation. Here we demonstrate that VAF347 interacts with the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) protein resulting in activation of the AhR signaling pathway. Functional AhR is responsible for the biological activity of VAF347 since, i) other AhR agonists display an identical activity profile in vitro, ii) gene silencing of wild type AhR expression or forced over-expression of a trans-dominant negative AhR ablates VAF347 activity to inhibit cytokine induced IL-6 expression in a human monocytic cell line and iii) AhR deficient mice are resistant to the compound’s ability to block allergic lung inflammation in vivo. These data identify the AhR protein as key molecular target of VAF347 and its essential role for mediating the anti-inflammatory effects of the compound in vitro and in vivo. Keywords: effect of compound
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Project description:Although genome-wide association studies, animal models, and cell culture systems have yielded important insights into the pathogenesis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), the underlying molecular pathways remain ill defined. Recent studies have deciphered the transcriptional profile of choroidal neovascularisation (CNV) of body donor eyes and were thus limited by the time span from death to preservation and the associated rapid 5'-RNA degradation. In this study, CNVs were therefore formalin-fixed immediately after surgical extraction from patients with nAMD and analyzed using a 3’ RNA sequencing approach called Massive Analysis of cDNA Ends (MACE). Age-matched formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) RPE-choroidal specimens obtained from the macular region of enucleated eyes with ciliary body melanoma served as controls. Transcriptome profiles were generated and disease-associated gene signatures were identified using statistical and bioinformatic methods. Calprotectin (S100A8/A9) protein expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry and ELISA.We identified 158 differentially-expressed genes (DEG) that were significantly increased in CNV compared to control tissue. Gene ontology enrichment analysis demonstrated that these DEG contributed to biological processes, such as Blood Vessel Development, Extracellular Structure Organization, Response to Wounding and several immune-related terms. The S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) and S100A9 emerged among the top DEG, as confirmed by immunohistochemistry on CNV tissue and protein analysis of vitreous samples from nAMD patients and controls. This study provides a high-resolution RNA-sequencing-based transcriptional signature of choroidal neovascular membranes in AMD patients and reveals S100A8/A9 as a novel biomarker and promising target for AMD-directed therapeutics and diagnostics.
2020-04-09 | GSE146887 | GEO