1. Academic Validation
  2. PAI-1 is a vascular cell-specific HIF-2-dependent angiogenic factor that promotes retinal neovascularization in diabetic patients

PAI-1 is a vascular cell-specific HIF-2-dependent angiogenic factor that promotes retinal neovascularization in diabetic patients

  • Sci Adv. 2022 Mar 4;8(9):eabm1896. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abm1896.
Yaowu Qin 1 2 Jing Zhang 1 3 Savalan Babapoor-Farrokhran 1 Brooks Applewhite 1 Monika Deshpande 1 Haley Megarity 1 Miguel Flores-Bellver 4 Silvia Aparicio-Domingo 4 Tao Ma 5 Yuan Rui 6 Stephany Y Tzeng 6 Jordan J Green 1 6 M Valeria Canto-Soler 4 Silvia Montaner 5 Akrit Sodhi 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
  • 2 EENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China.
  • 3 State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510064, China.
  • 4 CellSight Ocular Stem Cell and Regeneration Research Program, Department of Ophthalmology, Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.
  • 5 Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences, Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
  • 6 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for NanoBioTechnology, and the Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA.
Abstract

For patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) who do not respond adequately to pan-retinal laser photocoagulation (PRP) or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies, we hypothesized that vascular cells within neovascular tissue secrete autocrine/paracrine angiogenic factors that promote disease progression. To identify these factors, we performed multiplex ELISA angiogenesis arrays on aqueous fluid from PDR patients who responded inadequately to anti-VEGF therapy and/or PRP and identified plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). PAI-1 expression was increased in vitreous biopsies and neovascular tissue from PDR eyes, limited to retinal vascular cells, regulated by the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α, and necessary and sufficient to stimulate angiogenesis. Using a pharmacologic inhibitor of HIF-2α (PT-2385) or nanoparticle-mediated RNA interference targeting Pai1, we demonstrate that the HIF-2α/PAI-1 axis is necessary for the development of retinal neovascularization in mice. These results suggest that targeting HIF-2α/PAI-1 will be an effective adjunct therapy for the treatment of PDR patients.

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