CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RETINA IN A MOUSE MODEL TOWNES: MORPHOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND MARKERS ANGIOGENIC

• Grant number: 23/11096-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Barbosa de Melo
• Grantee: Pedro Pinholato Barbirato da Mata
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/18886-1 - Pathophysiological mechanisms and treatment of red blood cell abnormalities, AP.TEM

Abstract

Among the ophthalmological complications present in sickle cell disease, retinal changes are the most relevant with regard to ocular morbidity. Proliferative sickle cell retinopathy (PSCR) occurs due to vaso-occlusion of the ocular microvasculature, which may lead to neovascularization in its proliferative form, which eventually unfolds into vitreous hemorrhage and detachment of the retina, being the major cause of progressive vision loss in those affected. The precise cause formation of neovessels in sickle cell disease is not fully understood, so retinopathy in these individuals offers an interesting study model. Because of inherent difficulties in evaluating human retinal tissue, the HbSS-Townes is most appropriate as the animals exhibit a retinopathy-like phenotype in humans. The present project proposes the morphological characterization of the retina of mice Townes (HbSS) and C57BL/6J (HbAA) controls by hematoxylin-eosin staining, as well as the identification, by immunohistochemistry, of angiogenesis markers: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-induced factor 1 and 2 (HIF-1 and HIF-2) and acidic protein glial fibrillar (GFAP). The characterization of retinal morphological changes will help in the best understanding of the pathophysiology of proliferative sickle cell retinopathy.