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Anti‐VEGF in the retina
Author(s) -
NG E
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2014.3216.x
Subject(s) - retina , neuroprotection , vascular endothelial growth factor , retinal ganglion cell , endogeny , retinal , neuroscience , neuron , ganglion , biology , vascular endothelial growth factor a , ganglion cell layer , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , vegf receptors , endocrinology , cancer research , ophthalmology
Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF‐A) was initially discovered as an endothelial cell‐specific growth factor, and current evidence suggests that it also plays numerous roles outside the vasculature, perhaps most significantly in the nervous system. We previously determined a neuroprotective role for both exogenous and endogenous VEGF‐A in the adult rodent retina during acute ischemia‐reperfusion injury. Furthermore, we demonstrated that endogenous VEGF‐A is critical for maintaining neuron survival in normal adult retina, that long‐term systemic and local VEGF antagonism resulted in significant loss of retinal ganglion cells. More recently, a primary retinal ganglion cell culture model was used to investigate the molecular basis of VEGF‐A’s neuroprotective function, and the importance of VEGF‐A to neuron survival was evaluated in models of glaucoma. Our findings reinforce the essential role for VEGF‐A in retinal neuron survival and have potential implications for therapeutic anti‐VEGF‐A in conditions associated with retinal ganglion cell distress.