Role of Fuel Deficiency as a Driver of Neovascularization in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

• Applicant: Dr. Bertan Cakir
• Subject Area: Ophthalmology
• Term: from 2017 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390146606

• Final Report Year: 2020

Final Report Abstract

Overall, we found that high plasma glucose levels and signs of insulin insensitivity during early postnatal life were associated with lower postnatal IGF-1 levels and increased risk of ROP. These findings were replicated in a neonatal hyperglycemia OIR mouse model also demonstrating that decreased insulin signaling suppressed liver production of IGF-I resulting in lower serum IGF-I levels and increased neovascularization in mouse OIR. IGF-1 supplementation improved revascularization and decreased pathological angiogenesis. The data further supports the use of IGF-1 supplementation as a potential treatment in hyperglycemic preterm infants to prevent ROP.

Publications

• (2018). Thrombocytopenia is associated with severe retinopathy of prematurity. JCI Insight 3
  Cakir, B., Liegl, R., Hellgren, G., Lundgren, P., Sun, Y., Klevebro, S., Löfqvist, C., Mannheimer, C., Cho, S., Poblete, A., et al.
  (See online at https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.99448)