J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2007 Jun;48(6):835-844.

The Effect on the Retinal Vessels of rhEPO in a Rat Model of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy

• Park CH
• Park TK
• Lee SJ
• Ohn YH
• Kim SW

Abstract

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on the retinal vessels in a rat model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR).
METHODS
Twenty-six Sprague-Dawley rat siblings were exposed to seven cycles each of hyperoxia (80% O2, 23.5 hours) and room air recovery (0.5 hours), followed by exposure to room air for five days. After each of the test group and control group was divided into two groups of rhEPO injected group and normal saline injected group, 400 u/kg of rhEPO or normal saline were intraperitoneally injected, respectively on the third, fifth, and eighth days of the experiment. Retinal neovascularization and capillary densities were compared between the rats on the eighth and fourteenth day after injection. The extent of VEGF164, and IGF-1 mRNA expression was measured in the rats on the 14th day post-injection.
RESULTS
Neovascularization and capillary density was the most increased in the rhEPO injected test group, but the avascular area was widely distributed in the vicinity of the retina. The degree of VEGF164 mRNA expression was highest in the test group that had been injected with normal saline. We found no difference in IGF-1 mRNA levels between the groups.
CONCLUSIONS
We can infer that rhEPO can be a potent factor for inducing retinal neovascularization.

Keyword

Erythropoietin; IGF-1; Neovascularization; OIR model; VEGF164

MeSH Terms

Animals
Capillaries
Erythropoietin
Humans
Hyperoxia
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Models, Animal*
Rats*
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Retina
Retinal Neovascularization
Retinal Vessels*
Retinaldehyde*
RNA, Messenger
Siblings
Erythropoietin
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
RNA, Messenger
Retinaldehyde