Despite its early discovery and high sequence homology to the other VEGF family members, the biological functions of VEGF-B remain poorly understood. We revealed here a novel function for VEGF-B as a potent inhibitor of apoptosis. Using gene expression profiling of mouse primary aortic smooth muscle cells, and confirming the results by real-time PCR using mouse and rat cell lines, we showed that VEGF-B inhibited the expression of genes encoding the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins and other apoptosis-and cell death-related proteins, including p53 and members of the caspase family, via activation of VEGFR-1. Consistent with this, VEGF-B treatment rescued neurons from apoptosis in the retina and brain in mouse models of ocular neurodegenerative disorders and stroke, respectively. Interestingly, VEGF-B treatment at the dose effective for neuronal survival did not cause retinal neovascularization, suggesting that VEGF-B is the first member of the VEGF family that has a potent antiapoptotic effect while lacking a general angiogenic activity. These findings indicate that VEGF-B may potentially offer a new therapeutic option for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an essential tool for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis, a chronic cardiovascular disease. MRI primarily uses superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) as a contrast agent. However, SPIO integrated with therapeutic drugs has rarely been studied. In this study, we explored biocompatible paramagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (NPs) in a complex with low pH-sensitive cyclodextrin for the diagnostic imaging and treatment of atherosclerosis. The NPs were conjugated with profilin-1 antibody (PFN1) to specifically target vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the atherosclerotic plaque and integrated with the anti-inflammatory drug, rapamycin. The PFN1-CD-MNPs were easily binded to the VSMCs, indicating their good biocompatibility and low renal toxicity over the long term. Ex vivo near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging and in vivo MRI indicated the accumulation of PFN1-CD-MNPs in the atherosclerotic plaque. The RAP@PFN1-CD-MNPs alleviated the progression of arteriosclerosis. Thus, PFN1-CD-MNPs served not only as multifunctional imaging probes but also as nanovehicles for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

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Injury to the optic nerve can lead to axonal degeneration, followed by a gradual death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), which results in irreversible vision loss. Examples of such diseases in human include traumatic optic neuropathy and optic nerve degeneration in glaucoma. It is characterized by typical changes in the optic nerve head, progressive optic nerve degeneration, and loss of retinal ganglion cells, if uncontrolled, leading to vision loss and blindness.The optic nerve crush (ONC) injury mouse model is an important experimental disease model for traumatic optic neuropathy, glaucoma, etc. In this model, the crush injury to the optic nerve leads to gradual retinal ganglion cells apoptosis. This disease model can be used to study the general processes and mechanisms of neuronal death and survival, which is essential for the development of therapeutic measures. In addition, pharmacological and molecular approaches can be used in this model to identify and test potential therapeutic reagents to treat different types of optic neuropathy.Here, we provide a step by step demonstration of (I) Baseline retrograde labeling of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) at day 1, (II) Optic nerve crush injury at day 4, (III) Harvest the retinae and analyze RGC survival at day 11, and (IV) Representative result. ProtocolAll equipments and reagents used are sterile. All animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) at the NEI/NIH (animal study protocol NEI-570), and were performed according to the NIH guidelines and regulations.