The effects of growth factors on the proliferation and in vitro angiogenesis of human macular inner choroidal endothelial cells

Abstract

Both VEGF(165) and FGF2 significantly increase human macular ICEC proliferation and sprout formation in an angiogenesis assay. When present together, their effect was additive. IGF-1, PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB and IL-1 beta did not have any significant effect on proliferation or sprout formation in vitro. These results suggest that targeting other growth factors such as FGF2, in addition to VEGF, may be beneficial in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Authors' response

“…EC heterogeneity is well recognised and has been previously described with regard to intraocular EC by Smith et al 2 and Zamora et al ,3 discussed in our earlier publications,4 and is further supported by the findings reported in our recent publication.…”

Comparative gene expression profiling of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and ocular vascular endothelial cells

“…Matched, first passage human choroidal and retinal endothelial cell proliferation was assessed using the WST-1 assay (Roche) as previously described 10. Proliferation was measured in the presence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 165 and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) alone (both from R and D Systems, Abingdon, UK) and in combination.…”

The endothelial cell tube formation assay on basement membrane turns 20: state of the science and the art

“…Because endothelial cell tube formation on basement membrane replicates many of the steps in angiogenesis, it has been widely used as a screen for angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors [23][24][25]. Indeed, most of the known angiogenic factors are active in this assay.…”