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From the Centre of Ophthalmology and Vision Science,*
and the School of Biology and Biochemistry,
The Queens University of Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast,
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
| Abstract |
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Laminin is a major component of vascular basement membranes and is
vital for endothelial cell function under physiological
conditions.5
Cellular interaction with laminin
, ß,
and
chains is achieved through a range of integrin and non-integrin
receptor interactions that coordinate cellular adhesion, spreading,
differentiation, and phenotypic stabilization.6
Among the
many laminin-binding proteins, a high-affinity non-integrin laminin
receptor which migrates at 67 kd, after posttranslational modification
of a
33-kd precursor protein (designated P40/37LRP),7,8
has been identified in vascular endothelial cells.9,10
This receptor (designated 67LR) binds to a cysteine-rich domain of the
short arm of laminin ß1.11
Tumor cell-associated 67LR has a recognized role in metastasis and tumor invasiveness.12,13 67LR is also known to facilitate attachment and migration of endothelial cells and, given its positive correlation with microvessel density in tumors, endothelial cell-associated 67LR is also likely to have a crucial function in tumor angiogenesis.13-15 In a murine model of proliferative retinopathy, 67LR was found to be highly expressed by proliferating intraretinal and preretinal new vessels.16 This was in direct contrast to the established, quiescent, retinal vasculature where expression was barely detectable.16 In addition, it has been shown that 67LR is highly expressed by proliferating microvascular endothelium during retinal development17 and that, in vitro, expression levels decrease significantly when these cells become contact-inhibited.9
It has been shown that synthetic peptides with homology to the binding site of 67LR on the laminin ß1 chain (residues 925933 of murine ß1; sequence CPDGYIGSR) may display agonist or antagonist properties and can effectively enhance or reduce epidermal growth factor (EGF)- or laminin-stimulated endothelial cell motility, respectively.10 For example, a peptide antagonist of 67LR, derived from the murine EGF amino acid sequence 3342 (EGF(3342); sequence VIGYSGDR) inhibits endothelial cell motility in vitro, whereas the native laminin ß1 peptide (Lamß1925933) acts as an agonist, stimulating endothelial cell motility.10,14,18 Thus, 67LR represents a potentially useful therapeutic target for modulating retinal neovascularization and to test this we used synthetic peptides which display either agonist or antagonist properties in a murine model of hypoxia-induced proliferative retinopathy.
| Materials and Methods |
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The following synthetic peptides were used in the experiments: a decapeptide from the C-loop of murine EGF (EGF3342) (acetyl-C-(S-Acm)-VIGYSGDR-C(S-Acm)-NH2), a scrambled, control peptide (based on a randomized peptide from the EGF3342 sequence; acetyl-IDC-(S-Acm)-YGC-(S-Acm)-RSVG-NH2) and a nonapeptide Lamß1925933 (amino acid sequence: CPDGYIGSR), corresponding to the binding region for 67LR on laminin ß1 chain (amino acid residues 925933) (Lamß1925933). For fluorescein isothiocycanate (FITC) labeling of EGF3342, the carboxyfluorescein (Fluka, Dorset, UK) was coupled to the amino-terminal cysteine using fluorenylmethcarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry. All peptides were synthesized on a model 432A peptide synthesiser (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, UK), using standard solid-phase Fmoc procedure. They were then purified using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the purity confirmed by capillary electrophoresis, automated amino acid analysis, and electrospray mass spectrometry.
Animal Model and Experimental Groups
The studies adhered to the Association for Research in Vision Ophthalmology statement for the use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research. Oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) was induced in C57BL/J6 mice according to a protocol which has been described previously.19 Briefly, litters of 7-day-old (P7) pups and their nursing dams were exposed to 75% oxygen for 5 days. The flow of humidified medical grade oxygen was controlled by a gas oxygen controller (PROOX model 110; Reming Bioinstruments, Redfield, NY). On postnatal day 12 (P12) the mice were returned to ambient oxygen. Body weights were recorded on P7 and daily from P12 to P20 to ensure that there was no serious growth retardation.
FITC-EGF3342 was administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) into hypoxia-exposed (n = 5) and normoxia control mice (n = 4) at P20. At 2, 6, and 24 hours postinjection the eyes were enucleated and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA). The anterior segment, lens, vitreous, and hyaloid were removed and the posterior eye cup was subjected to four radial full-thickness cuts and incubated for 16 hours at 4°C in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 0.5% Triton X-100 (TX-100). The retinal vasculature was then localized through labeling with biotinylated BSII lectin (purified from Griffinia simplicfolia, Sigma Chemical Company) and subsequently, streptavidin-Texas Red (Dako Ltd.). The eye cups were then flat mounted and fluorescence was localized using a confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM). Kidneys, liver, and brain from these animals were also harvested and fixed before frozen sections were prepared and viewed by CSLM.
Non-labeled EGF3342, and Lamß1925933 in two different concentrations (10.0 and 2.0 mg/kg/day, diluted in PBS) were administered i.p. daily from P12 to P19 to a minimum of 12 pups per group. Scrambled peptide was used in the highest dose (10.0 mg/kg/day) only.
Each litter of hypoxia-exposed mice was divided into two groups, one of which was a peptide-treated group and the other was designated to be injected with either PBS or scrambled peptide and was used as the control for each experiment. Both groups stayed together throughout the whole experiment (P0 to P20) to eliminate a possible difference in growth rate originating from different nursing conditions. Routinely, two pups from a litter were killed upon returning to the room air (P12) to check for hypoxia-mediated closure of the central retinal capillaries and the rest of the litter 8 days later (P20). Before sacrifice, the mice were deeply anesthetized by intraperitoneal injection as previously described16 and given 0.15 ml of FITC-dextran (50 mg/ml in PBS) via the left ventricle (fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran, MW: 2 x 106; Sigma-Aldrich). The eyes were enucleated, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde solution in 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer for 18 hours, and then washed in PBS. The retinas were carefully dissected and flat mounted on microscope slides in a Maltese cross configuration.
Quantification of Neovascular Response
Flat-mounted FITC-dextran perfused retinas were imaged on a BioRad MicroRadiance confocal scanning laser microscope fitted to an Olympus BX60 fluorescence microscope with a 4x plan-apochromatic objective. For comparative analysis, the retinal angiographic images were always orientated with the optic nerve at the center of the field of view. The angiographic analysis was conducted according to a novel method (Gebarowska D, Stitt AW, Mahon A, Nelson J, Gardiner TA, submitted for publication) which displayed each digital angiographic image with a superimposed 64-square grid (8 x 8 squares) corresponding to a real area of 9.95 mm2. Each grid square, equivalent to 0.155 mm2 of retinal area, was analyzed and annotated with on-screen letters which specifically recorded and quantified normally vascularized retina, residual ischemic retina at P20, and the vasoproliferative response as registered by preretinal neovascularization and intraretinal tufts of new vessels. A computer program using the classification described below was designed to assist with the retinal angiogram analysis and classified vessels according to the following: E, empty; N, normally vascularized retina; I, ischemic non-perfused retina; T, neovascular tufts; O, non-vascularized far periphery; V, tortuous vessels; and U, unidentifiable. "Empty" represented those areas of an image corresponding to the expansion of the four radial cuts applied in the flat-mounting procedure. An operator familiar with the relevant angiographic morphology applied the letter codes. The annotation procedure allowed for the recording of different features within any given grid square, ie, coding a square by more than one letter, which was usually necessary as a retinal area of 0.155 mm2 may be characterized by several angiographic features. The program was able to quantify all possible letter combinations and calculate the total retinal areas displaying the particular morphologies. The total areas characterized by each of the designated features were expressed in mm2 and as percentages of a total analyzed retinal area. The program performed simple summary statistics of an analyzed image and the data files were transferred to other programs for further analysis and display where the data were compared by one-way analysis of variance.
Since litter size was variable and there was always control and experimental animals within litters, the number of mice in each experiment was variable. However, for all experiments there was a minimum of 12 eyes analyzed from 6 mice and a maximum of 24 eyes from 12 mice per group.
Animal Growth, Organ Weights, and Histological Analysis
Mice body weights were recorded on P7 and daily from P12 to P20 and compared between two groups of the same "nursery" litter. At the end of the experiments hearts, livers, lungs, kidneys and spleens were collected, weighed, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and processed for light microscopic examination after hematoxylin and eosin staining. An experienced pathologist evaluated the organs for alterations in morphology.
| Results |
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Evaluation of retinas from mice treated from P12 with
mEGF3342 (Figure 3A)
showed a clear inhibition of
neovascularization compared with a scrambled peptide-injected control
group (Figure 3B)
. At the same time, EGF3342
treatment had no effect on quiescent, non-proliferative retinal vessel
density. On quantification, there was a significant reduction in the
occurrence of preretinal vessels in mice treated with
EGF(3342) at either 2.0
(P < 0.005) or 10.0 mg/kg/day
(P < 0.001) compared with controls (Figure 3C)
.
The lowest concentration proved to be equally effective at reducing
preretinal neovascularization in hypoxia-exposed mice at P20.
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| Discussion |
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It has been shown that once proliferation responses reduce (eg, as a result of contact inhibition in vitro), endothelial cells, including retinal microvascular endothelium, markedly down-regulate their expression of 67LR.9,16 Indeed, it has been shown that 67LR expression is reduced or absent on quiescent intraretinal capillaries in comparison to actively proliferating vessels.16 In the current study, EGF3342 had no apparent influence on quiescent, non-proliferative retinal vessel density as evidenced by the persistence of the central retinal ischemia and no change at the peripheral capillary plexi or large central retinal vessels. Being a cell surface receptor which is comparatively highly expressed by proliferating endothelial cells makes 67LR an promising target for treatment of retinal neovascularization and perhaps other angiogenic diseases such as metastatic cancer.
That Lamß1925933 caused a reduction in neovascularization comparable to that of EGF3342 was unexpected, as this peptide has been previously shown to function as an agonist of 67LR-mediated endothelial cell migration in vitro.10 However full angiographic analysis revealed differences compared with the appearance of EGF3342-treated retinas in that there was a clear tendency toward "normality" when compared to hypoxia-exposed control mice. The data suggests that in this model system the Lamß1925933 nonapeptide is acting as a partial 67LR agonist, in that it promotes endothelial cell migration and revascularization of the ischemic neural retina. Significantly, there was also a decrease in preretinal neovascularization which is most likely due to the reduction in retinal ischemia and hence hypoxia-mediated expression of potent angiogenic stimuli such as VEGF.
This is the first report on the ability of a fragment of the ß chain
of laminin-1 to cause a significant revascularization event in any
tissue. However, previous studies have suggested that peptide fragments
based around the YIGSR motif can act as 67LR agonists and promote
endothelial cell sprouting, adhesion, and tube formation in
vitro.14,21
The present results resemble those
obtained from studies of the bioactivity of the peptide SIKVAV (a motif
derived from the
chain of laminin-1) which can also promote
angiogenesis in vitro and in
vivo22,23
and can appreciably reverse hind limb
ischemia by augmenting capillary recanalization.24
It is
possible that agonist stimulation of the retinal vasculature with
Lamß1925933-based peptides may allow more
rapid cell spreading and thus enhance the endothelial angiogenic
phenotype.
Reversal of retinal ischemia would be a highly effective therapeutic option for many important retinal disorders such as diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. Agonism of 67LR and other similar receptors may lead to a reversal of retinal vascular insufficiency through promotion of intraretinal angiogenic activity without leading to uncontrolled proliferation on the retinal surface, a phenomenon which carries high risk of vitreal bleeding and tractional retinal detachment. In many disease states, a strategy of ischemia reversal has obvious advantages over agents which directly inhibit endothelial cell proliferation since it offers the option to repair tissue damage which is the primary stimulus for neovascularization. The potential uses of such pro-angiogenic peptides warrants further study.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported by Diabetes UK, The Wellcome Trust, Insight (Northern Ireland), and Action Cancer (Northern Ireland).
Accepted for publication October 12, 2001.
| References |
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