Purpose: Anti-angiogenic agents stand first in the treatment of neovascular diseases of the retina. CD160 appeared in several experimental studies as a marker of activated endothelial cells, suggesting it could represent a promising target for novel anti-angiogenic therapies. The aim of the present study was to assess the distribution of CD160 in the human eye, and to search for a possible correlation with retinal neovascular diseases.
Methods: The physiological distribution of CD160 in the normal eye was assessed with immunolabeling in 10 human donor eyes. Then, in a retrospective cohort of 75 surgical retinal specimens, the density of CD160+ microvessels was evaluated, along with immunolabeling on serial sections against ERG (pan-endothelial cell marker), CD105 (activated endothelial cell marker), and α-SMA (pericyte cell marker). The cohort was divided into two groups: 29 patients with neovascular disease (NV+) and 46 control patients (NV-).
Results: CD160 was physiologically expressed by several cell types: endothelial cells of retinal blood vessels, ganglion cells, macrophages, epithelial cells of the conjunctiva, ciliary body, and retinal pigment epithelium. In the patient cohort, the percentage of CD160+ vessels in the retina was significantly and independently higher in patients suffering from neovascular diseases (P = 0.04). On the contrary, the expression of CD105 was correlated neither with retinal neovascular diseases, nor with CD160 expression.
Conclusions: CD160 was expressed in some retinal vessels in both normal and pathologic eyes. CD160 expression by endothelial cells of retinal vessels was correlated with ocular neovascular diseases. CD160 could therefore represent an interesting target for novel anti-angiogenic therapies.