title: Vascular endothelial growth factor in eye disease.
abstract: Collectively, angiogenic ocular conditions represent the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in developed countries. In the US, for example, retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration are the principal causes of blindness in the infant, working age and elderly populations, respectively. Evidence suggests that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a 40kDa dimeric glycoprotein, promotes angiogenesis in each of these conditions, making it a highly significant therapeutic target. However, VEGF is pleiotropic, affecting a broad spectrum of endothelial, neuronal and glial behaviors, and confounding the validity of anti-VEGF strategies, particularly under chronic disease conditions. In fact, among other functions VEGF can influence cell proliferation, cell migration, proteolysis, cell survival and vessel permeability in a wide variety of biological contexts. This article will describe the roles played by VEGF in the pathogenesis of retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The potential disadvantages of inhibiting VEGF will be discussed, as will the rationales for targeting other VEGF-related modulators of angiogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA. john.penn@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Penn
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartoli
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hartnett
mesh_terms: D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000378:metabolism; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000378:metabolism; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000378:metabolism; D012178:Retinopathy of Prematurity / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C467484:VEGFA protein, human; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A