Ketorolac, melatonin and latanoprost tri-loaded PLGA microspheres for neuroprotection in glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that affects the retina and optic nerve. The aim of this work was to reach different therapeutics targets by co-encapsulating three neuroprotective substances with hypotensive (latanoprost), antioxidant (melatonin) and anti-inflammatory (ketorolac) activity in biodegradable poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres (MSs) capable of releasing the drugs for months after intravitreal injection, avoiding the need for repeated administrations. Multi-loaded PLGA MSs were prepared using the oil-in-water emulsion solvent extraction-evaporation technique and physicochemically characterized.

Multi-loaded PLGA microspheres as neuroretinal therapy in a chronic glaucoma animal model.

This work focused on the co-encapsulation and simultaneous co-delivery of three different neuroprotective drugs in PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres for the treatment of glaucoma. For formulation optimization, dexamethasone (anti-inflammatory) and ursodeoxycholic acid (anti-apoptotic) were co-loaded by the solid-in-oil-in-water emulsion solvent extraction-evaporation technique as a first step. The incorporation of a water-soluble co-solvent (ethanol) and different amounts of dexamethasone resulted critical for the encapsulation of the neuroprotective agents and their initial release.

Endothelial TDP-43 controls sprouting angiogenesis and vascular barrier integrity, and its deletion triggers neuroinflammation.

TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is a DNA/RNA-binding protein that regulates gene expression, and its malfunction in neurons has been causally associated with multiple neurodegenerative disorders. Although progress has been made in understanding the functions of TDP-43 in neurons, little is known about its roles in endothelial cells (ECs), angiogenesis, and vascular function. Using inducible EC-specific TDP-43-KO mice, we showed that TDP-43 is required for sprouting angiogenesis, vascular barrier integrity, and blood vessel stability.

Chronic Glaucoma Induced in Rats by a Single Injection of Fibronectin-Loaded PLGA Microspheres: IOP-Dependent and IOP-Independent Neurodegeneration.

To evaluate a new animal model of chronic glaucoma induced using a single injection of fibronectin-loaded biodegradable PLGA microspheres (Ms) to test prolonged therapies. 30 rats received a single injection of fibronectin-PLGA-Ms suspension (MsF) in the right eye, 10 received non-loaded PLGA-Ms suspension (Control), and 17 were non-injected (Healthy). Follow-up was performed (24 weeks), evaluating intraocular pressure (IOP), optical coherence tomography (OCT), histology and electroretinography.

PI3K-C2β limits mTORC1 signaling and angiogenic growth.

Phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) phosphorylate intracellular inositol lipids to regulate signaling and intracellular vesicular trafficking. Mammals have eight PI3K isoforms, of which class I PI3Kα and class II PI3K-C2α are essential for vascular development. The class II PI3K-C2β is also abundant in endothelial cells.

Pericytes in the disease spotlight.

Pericytes are known as the mural cells in small-caliber vessels that interact closely with the endothelium. Pericytes play a key role in vasculature formation and homeostasis, and when dysfunctional contribute to vasculature-related diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and neurodegenerative conditions. In addition, significant extravascular roles of pathological pericytes are being discovered with relevant implications for cancer and fibrosis.

Angiocrine polyamine production regulates adiposity.

Reciprocal interactions between endothelial cells (ECs) and adipocytes are fundamental to maintain white adipose tissue (WAT) homeostasis, as illustrated by the activation of angiogenesis upon WAT expansion, a process that is impaired in obesity. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the crosstalk between ECs and adipocytes remain poorly understood. Here, we show that local production of polyamines in ECs stimulates adipocyte lipolysis and regulates WAT homeostasis in mice.

Intravitreal administration of recombinant human opticin protects against hyperoxia-induced pre-retinal neovascularization.

Opticin is an extracellular glycoprotein present in the vitreous. Its antiangiogenic properties offer the potential for therapeutic intervention in conditions such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that intravitreal administration of recombinant human opticin can safely protect against the development of pathological angiogenesis and promote its regression.

Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase-Regulated Pericyte Maturation Governs Vascular Remodeling.

Background: Pericytes regulate vessel stabilization and function, and their loss is associated with diseases such as diabetic retinopathy or cancer. Despite their physiological importance, pericyte function and molecular regulation during angiogenesis remain poorly understood.

Methods: To decipher the transcriptomic programs of pericytes during angiogenesis, we crossed mice into RiboTag mice.

Stabilization of myeloid-derived HIFs promotes vascular regeneration in retinal ischemia.

The retinal vasculature is tightly organized in a structure that provides for the high metabolic demand of neurons while minimizing interference with incident light. The adverse impact of retinal vascular insufficiency is mitigated by adaptive vascular regeneration but exacerbated by pathological neovascularization. Aberrant growth of neovessels in the retina is responsible for impairment of sight in common blinding disorders including retinopathy of prematurity, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration.

Accelerated oxygen-induced retinopathy is a reliable model of ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization.

Retinal ischemia and pathological angiogenesis cause severe impairment of sight. Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) in young mice is widely used as a model to investigate the underlying pathological mechanisms and develop therapeutic interventions. We compared directly the conventional OIR model (exposure to 75% O2 from postnatal day (P) 7 to P12) with an alternative, accelerated version (85% O2 from P8 to P11).

Disease correction by AAV-mediated gene therapy in a new mouse model of mucopolysaccharidosis type IIID.

Gene therapy is a promising therapeutic alternative for Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD), as it is not necessary to correct the genetic defect in all cells of an organ to achieve therapeutically significant levels of enzyme in body fluids, from which non-transduced cells can uptake the protein correcting their enzymatic deficiency. Animal models are instrumental in the development of new treatments for LSD. Here we report the generation of the first mouse model of the LSD Muccopolysaccharidosis Type IIID (MPSIIID), also known as Sanfilippo syndrome type D.

Progressive neurologic and somatic disease in a novel mouse model of human mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIC.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIC (MPSIIIC) is a severe lysosomal storage disease caused by deficiency in activity of the transmembrane enzyme heparan-α-glucosaminide N-acetyltransferase (HGSNAT) that catalyses the N-acetylation of α-glucosamine residues of heparan sulfate. Enzyme deficiency causes abnormal substrate accumulation in lysosomes, leading to progressive and severe neurodegeneration, somatic pathology and early death. There is no cure for MPSIIIC, and development of new therapies is challenging because of the unfeasibility of cross-correction.

Myeloid-Derived Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Are Dispensable for Ocular Neovascularization--Brief Report.

Objective: Ocular neovascularization (ONV) is a pathological feature of sight-threatening human diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Macrophage depletion in mouse models of ONV reduces the formation of pathological blood vessels, and myeloid cells are widely considered an important source of the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF). However, the importance of VEGF or its upstream regulators hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) and hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF2α) as myeloid-derived regulators of ONV remains to be determined.

Proliferative retinopathies: animal models and therapeutic opportunities.

Proliferative retinopathies are the leading causes of blindness in Western societies. The development of new, more efficacious treatments that take advantage of recent advances in the fields of gene and cell therapy requires further investigations on the mechanisms underlying disease onset and progression, and adequate animal models that recapitulate the pathogenesis of human proliferative retinopathy and allow evaluation of the long-term therapeutic benefits that these therapies can offer. Unfortunately, most models of retinal neovascularization have short-term evolution and diabetic rodents show a very mild retinal phenotype, limited to non-proliferative changes, and do not develop proliferative retinopathy at all.

Biochemical, histological and functional correction of mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB by intra-cerebrospinal fluid gene therapy.

Gene therapy is an attractive tool for the treatment of monogenic disorders, in particular for lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) caused by deficiencies in secretable lysosomal enzymes in which neither full restoration of normal enzymatic activity nor transduction of all affected cells are necessary. However, some LSD such as Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIB (MPSIIIB) are challenging because the disease's main target organ is the brain and enzymes do not efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier even if present at very high concentration in circulation. To overcome these limitations, we delivered AAV9 vectors encoding for α-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGLU) to the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) of MPSIIIB mice with the disease already detectable at biochemical, histological and functional level.

Whole body correction of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA by intracerebrospinal fluid gene therapy.

For most lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) affecting the CNS, there is currently no cure. The BBB, which limits the bioavailability of drugs administered systemically, and the short half-life of lysosomal enzymes, hamper the development of effective therapies. Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS IIIA) is an autosomic recessive LSD caused by a deficiency in sulfamidase, a sulfatase involved in the stepwise degradation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparan sulfate.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)-induced chronic gliosis and retinal stress lead to neurodegeneration in a mouse model of retinopathy.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) exerts multiple effects on different retinal cell types in both physiological and pathological conditions. Despite the growth factor's extensively described neuroprotective actions, transgenic mice with increased intraocular levels of IGF-I showed progressive impairment of electroretinographic amplitudes up to complete loss of response, with loss of photoreceptors and bipolar, ganglion, and amacrine neurons. Neurodegeneration was preceded by the overexpression of genes related to retinal stress, acute-phase response, and gliosis, suggesting that IGF-I altered normal retinal homeostasis.

Long-term retinal PEDF overexpression prevents neovascularization in a murine adult model of retinopathy.

Neovascularization associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and other ocular disorders is a leading cause of visual impairment and adult-onset blindness. Currently available treatments are merely palliative and offer temporary solutions. Here, we tested the efficacy of antiangiogenic gene transfer in an animal model that mimics the chronic progression of human DR.

Correction of pathological accumulation of glycosaminoglycans in central nervous system and peripheral tissues of MPSIIIA mice through systemic AAV9 gene transfer.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPSIIIA) is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the sulfamidase gene. Accumulation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) inside the lysosomes is associated with severe neurodegeneration as well as peripheral organ pathological changes leading to death of affected individuals during adolescence. There is no cure for MPSIIIA.

Liver production of sulfamidase reverses peripheral and ameliorates CNS pathology in mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA mice.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPSIIIA) is an inherited lysosomal storage disease caused by deficiency of sulfamidase, resulting in accumulation of the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparan sulfate. It is characterized by severe progressive neurodegeneration, together with somatic alterations, which lead to death during adolescence. Here, we tested the ability of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector-mediated genetic modification of either skeletal muscle or liver to revert the already established disease phenotype of 2-month-old MPSIIIA males and females.

Increased intraocular insulin-like growth factor-I triggers blood-retinal barrier breakdown.

Blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown is a key event in diabetic retinopathy and other ocular disorders that leads to increased retinal vascular permeability. This causes edema and tissue damage resulting in visual impairment. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is involved in these processes, although the relative contribution of increased systemic versus intraocular IGF-I remains controversial.