Adapted from University of Kentucky News
Researchers have presented evidence that unravels the mystery of how a healthy cornea remains clear and free of blood vessels, which is essential for vision. The newly discovered protein that is responsible for keeping the cornea clear may lead to new treatments for macular degeneration, cancer and other diseases.
Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, of the University of Kentucky, and Dr. Balamurali Ambati, of the Medical College of Georgia, have jointly published a paper in the October 18, 2006 online edition of the journal Nature.
Angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) is what propels the growth of cancerous tumors and blinding conditions like macular degeneration. Because healthy corneas are avascular (free of blood vessels) they have long been the testing grounds for drugs that prevent the growth of blood vessels intended to treat conditions in other areas of the body.
The Ambatis, brothers who are both engaged in the clinical practice of ophthalmology as well as in basic research, discovered that a protein known as SFLT-1 is singularly responsible for warding off blood vessel growth in the cornea. When SFLT-1 is deactivated, blood vessels spontaneously invade the cornea. They studied a wide variety of mammals and confirmed the effect in each species including humans.
"The millenia-old mystery of corneal avascularity has been the subject of serious scientific inquiry for 50 years. The significance of this publication is that we have now identified a single protein responsible for this phenomenon, and it can be applied to other areas of the body as well," said Jayakrishna Ambati.
The next step, according to the researchers, is to test SFLT-1 in other areas of the body, encouraging tissues to produce the protein on their own.
"We want to know what it is in the cornea that produces so much of this protein which inhibits angiogenesis. With that knowledge we will be closer to fighting the growth of everything from vision-obscuring blood vessels in the eye to cancers," said Jayakrishna.
Macular Degeneration Research, a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, is proud to have previously funded Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati for his work on understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of age-related macular degeneration.