Hypoxia and Retinal Angiogenesis

Pathological angiogenesis causes irreversible visual impairment in adults and infants, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). These disorders feature an overgrowth of disorganized, leaky, and physiologically nonfunctional retinal vessels. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop clinically relevant retinopathy models in neonatal and adult animals to study the mechanisms of retinal pathological neovascularization, screen new drugs and validate anti-angiogenic therapies. In adult zebrafish, hypoxia-induced vascular responses include angiogenesis, vascular remodeling, and vascular leakiness. Interestingly, newly formed retinal vessels in AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and ROP share unique features similar to hypoxia-induced vascular networks. For example, pathological retinal vessels are premature, highly disorganized, and leaky. This suggests that the hypoxia model is a potentially ideal model to study pathological angiogenic ocular diseases.

Fig. 1. Hypoxia-induced retinal angiogenesis in adult fli-EGFP-Tg zebrafish. (Cao R, et al., 2008)

Service Overview

The change in O₂ level is a crucial factor affecting pathological neovascularization, and hypoxic conditions are a widely accepted method to induce abnormal retinal angiogenesis models in living animals. Ace Therapeutics provides a non-invasively generated (hypoxia-induced) adult zebrafish retinal neovascularization model to mimic clinically relevant pathological retinal neovascularization. This adult zebrafish model mimics the retinal vascular characteristics of diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. Our customers have widely used it to understand the underlying mechanisms of retinal angiogenesis, discover new anti-angiogenic drugs, and evaluate the efficacy of existing anti-angiogenic drugs.

To characterize retinal neovascularization in adult zebrafish under pathological conditions, our researchers monitor endpoints with the following tools and methods, including but not limited to:

• Confocal analysis.
• Immunohistochemical analysis.
• In vivo imaging analysis.
• Molecular biology analysis.

Explore Ace Therapeutics' Hypoxia-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis Model in an Adult Zebrafish

Ace Therapeutics' adult zebrafish retinal angiogenesis model was developed by exposing 5-18-month-old zebrafish to prolonged hypoxic conditions with a follow-up period of up to 15 days.

Model characteristics: Retinal neovascularization became evident after 3 days of hypoxia, and an increased angiogenic response was detected on days 6 and 12. At day 12, retinal neovascularization reached a plateau of maximal angiogenic response.

Advantages of Ace Therapeutics' Hypoxia-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis Model in an Adult Zebrafish

• Non-invasive induction.
• Highly reproducible retinal neovascularization.
• Simple, easy, and fast experimental procedure.
• Supporting anti-angiogenic drug screening.
• Supporting molecular mechanisms study of pathological angiogenesis.
• Supporting the efficacy assessment of orally active antiangiogenic agents.

Ace Therapeutics aims to provide a powerful analytical tool to help our global customers to understand the mechanisms underlying retinal angiogenesis and explore potential anti-angiogenic strategies. If you are interested in our services or need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us. Our experienced scientists are ready to help you!

Reference

1. Cao R, Jensen LD, Söll I, et al. Hypoxia-induced retinal angiogenesis in zebrafish as a model to study retinopathy. PLoS One. 2008, 3(7):e2748.

• Customized Zebrafish Models of NMDA-Induced Retinal Neurodegeneration
• Customized Zebrafish Model of Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Retina Damage
• Customized Zebrafish Models of MNU-Induced Retinal Degeneration and Regeneration
• Customized Zebrafish Models of Methylglyoxal-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis
• Customized Zebrafish Models of White-Induced Light Retinal Degeneration
• Customized Zebrafish Models of Hypoxia-Induced Neovascularization

• * Name:
• Phone:
• * Email:
• * Services or Products of Interest:
• Project Description:
• * All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.

  * Tick to confirm the Research Use Only (RUO) statement.

• Submit