Tong Jian-Ping, Yao Yu-Feng
Zheyi Eye Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310003 Zhejiang, PR China.
Clin Biochem. 2006 Mar;39(3):267-76. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2005.11.013. Epub 2006 Jan 10.
Ocular angiogenesis may lead to visual impairment and even irreversible blindness in people of all ages worldwide. Choroidal neovascularization (CNV), a major clinical complication of ocular angiogenesis, is an important cause of vision loss that affects a large number of people. Physiological angiogenesis is tightly controlled by a balance in the expression of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors. While the underlying mechanism of CNV is complex, it is attributed to an upset in this balance. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential in the development of CNV as one of the most potent angiogenic stimulators and vascular permeability factors. Pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF) is a strong inhibitor of angiogenesis with high neuroprotective effects. VEGF and PEDF both possess multiple biological activities and functions that affect a large variety of tissue cells of the eye and other organs. Inappropriate expression levels are associated with many diseases involving neovascularization. This paper describes the unbalanced expressions of VEGF and PEDF as a cause of CNV. Based on the respective angiogenic and anti-angiogenic properties of VEGF and PEDF, experimental models have been devised to genetically reduce VEGF or enhance PEDF to achieve therapeutic effects. Gene therapy for CNV is promising and is under intensive research.
眼部血管生成可能导致全世界所有年龄段的人视力受损甚至不可逆转的失明。脉络膜新生血管形成（CNV）是眼部血管生成的主要临床并发症，是影响大量人群视力丧失的重要原因。生理性血管生成受到血管生成因子和抗血管生成因子表达平衡的严格控制。虽然CNV的潜在机制很复杂，但它归因于这种平衡的失调。血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）作为最有效的血管生成刺激因子和血管通透性因子之一，在CNV的发展中至关重要。色素上皮衍生因子（PEDF）是一种具有高神经保护作用的强大血管生成抑制剂。VEGF和PEDF都具有多种生物学活性和功能，影响眼睛和其他器官的多种组织细胞。不适当的表达水平与许多涉及新生血管形成的疾病有关。本文描述了VEGF和PEDF的表达失衡是CNV的一个原因。基于VEGF和PEDF各自的促血管生成和抗血管生成特性，已经设计了实验模型来通过基因手段降低VEGF或增强PEDF以实现治疗效果。CNV的基因治疗前景广阔，正在进行深入研究。
