Gene therapy knockdown of VEGFR2 in retinal endothelial cells to treat retinopathy

Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) raises concerns for premature infants because VEGF is essential for retinovascular development as well as neuronal and glial health. This study tested the hypothesis that endothelial cell-specific knockdown of VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), or downstream STAT3, would inhibit VEGF-induced retinopathy without delaying physiologic retinal vascular development. We developed an endothelial cell-specific lentiviral vector that delivered shRNAs to VEGFR2 or STAT3 and a green fluorescent protein reporter under control of the VE-cadherin promoter. The specificity and efficacy of the lentiviral vector-driven shRNAs were validated in vitro and in vivo. In the rat oxygen-induced retinopathy model highly representative of human ROP, the effects of endothelial cell knockdown of VEGFR2 or STAT3 were determined on intravitreal neovascularization (IVNV), physiologic retinal vascular development [assessed as area of peripheral avascular/total retina (AVA)], retinal structure, and retinal function. Targeted knockdown of VEGFR2 or STAT3 specifically in retinal endothelial cells by subretinal injection of lentiviral vectors into postnatal day 8 rat pup eyes efficiently inhibited IVNV, and knockdown of VEGFR2 also reduced AVA and increased retinal thickness without altering retinal function. Taken together, our results support specific knockdown of VEGFR2 in retinal endothelial cells as a novel therapeutic method to treat retinopathy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s10456-018-9618-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.