IOVS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

(Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2006;47:3595-3602.)
© 2006 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.05-1522
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (11)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Checchin, D.
Right arrow Articles by Chemtob, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Checchin, D.
Right arrow Articles by Chemtob, S.

Potential Role of Microglia in Retinal Blood Vessel Formation

Daniella Checchin,1,2 Florian Sennlaub,1,3 Etienne Levavasseur,4 Martin Leduc,1 and Sylvain Chemtob1,2

1From the Departments of Pediatrics, Ophthalmology and Pharmacology, Research Center, Hôpital Ste. Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 2Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; 3INSERM U598, Physiopathologie des Maladies Oculaires: Innovations Therapeutiques, Paris, France; and 4INSERM U712, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Hôpital St. Antoine, Paris, France.

PURPOSE. The role of microglia, present in the retina early in development before vascularization, remains ill defined. The authors investigated whether microglia are implicated in retinal blood vessel formation.

METHODS. The microglia and vasculature of developing human fetal and rodent retinas were examined by labeling the endothelial cells with lectin and the microglia with CD18 antibody or green fluorescent protein driven by the promoter of the chemokine receptor CX3CR1. Rodent ischemic proliferative retinopathy induced by hyperoxia or hypercapnia, which model retinopathy of prematurity, and ex vivo retinal explants were used to assess microglial involvement in vascular pathology. Microglial participation in developmental retinal vessel formation was further studied in neonatal rats after pharmacologic macrophage depletion with the use of clodronate liposomes and subsequent intravitreal injection of microglia.

RESULTS. Microglia intimately appose developing vessels of human and murine retinas. Ischemic retinopathy models exhibit decreased microglia concomitant with the characteristic reductions in vasculature observed in these retinopathies. Retinal explants exposed to conditions resulting in ischemic retinopathies (in vivo) reveal that antioxidants protect against microglial loss. Depletion of resident retinal microglia, but not systemic macrophages, reduced developmental vessel growth and density, which were restored by intravitreal microglial injection.

CONCLUSIONS. These observations suggest that proper retinal blood vessel formation requires an adequate resident microglial population because diminished microglia are associated with decreased vascularity in models of ischemic retinopathy and retinal vascular development. In light of these findings, the traditional definition of microglia as merely immunocompetent cells should be reconsidered to encompass this new function related to blood vessel formation.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 IOVSHome page
M. H. Davies, A. J. Stempel, and M. R. Powers
MCP-1 Deficiency Delays Regression of Pathologic Retinal Neovascularization in a Model of Ischemic Retinopathy
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., September 1, 2008; 49(9): 4195 - 4202.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Pathol.Home page
M. Sasahara, A. Otani, A. Oishi, H. Kojima, Y. Yodoi, T. Kameda, H. Nakamura, and N. Yoshimura
Activation of Bone Marrow-Derived Microglia Promotes Photoreceptor Survival in Inherited Retinal Degeneration
Am. J. Pathol., June 1, 2008; 172(6): 1693 - 1703.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 IOVSHome page
J. Kezic, H. Xu, H. R. Chinnery, C. C. Murphy, and P. G. McMenamin
Retinal Microglia and Uveal Tract Dendritic Cells and Macrophages Are Not CX3CR1 Dependent in Their Recruitment and Distribution in the Young Mouse Eye
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2008; 49(4): 1599 - 1608.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Physiol. GenomicsHome page
A. S. Borders, M. A. Hersh, M. L. Getchell, N. van Rooijen, D. A. Cohen, A. J. Stromberg, and T. V. Getchell
Macrophage-mediated neuroprotection and neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium
Physiol Genomics, November 14, 2007; 31(3): 531 - 543.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology