title: [Effect of integrin α9β1 on corneal neovascularization and vascular endothelial growth factor A expression after corneal suture in rats].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of integrin α9β1 on corneal angiogenesis and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in rats after corneal suture.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group, corneal suture model group, α9β1 group, and α9β1 suppression group, and in the latter 3 groups, the rats received topical administration of levofloxacin, levofloxacin + α9β1, and levofloxacin+ anti-α9β1 monoclonal antibody (Y9A2) twice daily after corneal suture, respectively. At 3, 5, 7, 14 days after the surgery, 3 rats were randomly selected from each group to observe corneal neovascularization (CNV) under slit lamp. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expressions of VEGF-A.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CNV was not observed in normal cornea. Neovascularization occurred in the corneal limbus in the 3 corneal suture groups, and the leak neovascularization count (CNVC), which occurred on the 7th postoperative day, was significantly increased after α9β1 treatment compared with that in the model group (4.57∓0.31 vs 3.21∓0.19, P<0.05) but markedly decreased after α9β1 suppression (2.03∓0.26, P<0.05). VEGF-A was expressed at a low level in normal cornea, and increased significantly in the model group, reaching the peak level on 7th day (P<0.05); corneal VEGF-A expression was further enhanced by α9β1 treatment (P<0.05) while significantly lowered by α9β1 suppression (P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Integrin α9β1 can promote CNV by up-regulating VEGF-A expression and α9β1 suppression produces the opposite effect after corneal suture in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China. agelesscalla@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D016510:Corneal Neovascularization / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D016023:Integrins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013537:Sutures; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016023:Integrins; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C113256:integrin alpha 9 beta 1; C467498:vascular endothelial growth factor A, rat