Date Posted: 04 November 2009
A new biomarker, "CCR3", has been found to associate specifically with choroidal neovascularisation but not with normal retinal vasculature in research reported from the University of Kentucky. The finding marks a significant development in the understanding of AMD and will likely lead to the development of both diagnostic tools for early disease detection and a potential therapeutic to treat patients with AMD.
CCR3 is a receptor normally found on certain white blood cells and is known to play an immune role in inflammation. The research, led by Prof. Jayakrishna Ambati, found that in animal models of AMD, CCR3 appeared to be essential for the growth of choroidal vessels in CNV. Blocking the expression of CCR3 in animal models significantly decreased the generation of abnormal blood vessels. The researchers used their findings to tether anti-CCR3 antibodies to semiconductor nanocrystals known as quantum dots which, following intravenous injection, allowed detection of CNV by angiography before new blood vessels invaded the retina. Such a bio-imaging tool may now be developed for use in humans for the detection of early CNV lesions prior to retinal damage, a prospect that could revolutionise the current standard of care.
Prof. Ambati and his team were also able to demonstrate that CCR3 was expressed only in endothelial cells lining the abnormal blood vessels from people with AMD but not in the choroidal endothelium of individuals free of AMD, in other words the marker appears to be specific to proliferating choroidal endothelial cells and wet AMD. Using antibodies similar to those employed in the quantum dot visualisations the reported findings with animal models may also allow for the development of an antibody therapeutic more specific and effective than current anti-VEGF approaches [Takeda et al, Nature, Vol. 460, 225-229].
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