Abstract:

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether angiostatin inhibits tissue neovascularization.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of angiostatin on rat corneal neovascularization.
METHODS: Corneal neovascularization models were established in 24 rats after alkali burns, which were randomly divided into four groups: control group treated with normal saline, and three experimental groups treated with different-concentration angiostatin solution (25, 50, 75 mg/L), four times per day.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: There were few new vessels in the four groups at 3 days after modeling, and corneal neovascularization appeared obviously in the control group as compared with other three groups. At 3-7 days, the speed of corneal neovascularization accelerated, and new vessels in the control group were thicker compared with other groups. The area of corneal neovascularization in the three experimental groups was less than that in the control group after alkali burns (P < 0.05). 75 mg/L angiostatin drop group had the smallest neovascularized corneal area (P < 0.05). Real-time PCR results showed that there was a significant difference in the mRNA expression of CD31 among different groups (P < 0.01). Western blot findings demonstrated that the CD31 expression was lower in the three experimental groups than the control group, and lowered with the increase of angiostatin concentrations, indicating that the angiostatin eye drops can inhibit the coreal neovascularization.