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Experimental study suggests endostatin could be potential AMD treatment
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Endostatin may represent a potential new treatment for advanced age-related macular degeneration, according to results of an experimental study in mice.
"Endostatin may have a regulatory role in the pathogenesis of CNV (choroidal neovascularization) and could be used therapeutically to inhibit growth and leakage of CNV lesions," the authors said in the study.
Alexander G. Marneros, MD, and colleagues used a laser injury model to induce CNV in mice with and without endostatin, which is a naturally occurring protein in collagen. Before treatment, CNV lesions in mice without endostatin were three times larger than in normal mice, and endostatin-deficient mice showed increased vascular leakage, according to the study.
"These differences were independent of age-related changes at the choroid-retina interface," the authors said.
After endostatin administration, the lesions in endostatin-deficient mice were similar to those seen in normal mice. In addition, lesions in normal mice treated with endostatin were almost undetectable, the authors reported.
"These findings demonstrate that endogenous endostatin is an inhibitor of induced angiogenesis and that administration of endostatin potently inhibits CNV growth and vascular leakage," they said.
The study is published in the December issue of The FASEB Journal.