Purpose: It was the aim of this study to evaluate the effects of YC-1, 3-(5'-hydroxymethyl-2'-furyl)-1-benzylindazole, one of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) inhibitors, on laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in rats.
Methods: Thirty female Brown Norway rats underwent laser photocoagulation to induce CNV. Twenty of them (treatment group) were treated with a single intravitreal injection of 5 microg YC-1, and the remaining 10 (control) were sham-treated with a single intravitreal injection of 2.5 mg/ml dimethyl sulfoxide 2 weeks after laser photocoagulation. The expression of HIF-1alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in CNV was evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. Fluorescein angiography was performed 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after single intravitreal YC-1 (5 microg) and dimethyl sulfoxide (2.5 mg/ml) injection, grading fluorescein leakage from 0 to 3. The size of the CNV was measured on histologic sections.
Results: Both HIF-1alpha and VEGF were expressed in CNV lesions in the control group 4 weeks after laser photocoagulation, whereas the expressions of HIF-1alpha and VEGF were not observed in the intravitreally YC-1-treated group. The mean fluorescein leakage score decreased from 2.56 +/- 0.49 to 0.79 +/- 0.71 in the intravitreally YC-1-injected group and from 2.62 +/- 0.49 to 1.58 +/- 0.60 in the control group. Sixty-eight (71.6%) out of 95 CNV lesions of intravitreally YC-1-treated eyes (71.4%) and 12 (21.8%) out of 55 lesions in DMSO-treated eyes showed a decreased fluorescein leakage score of 2 or more. The mean difference of fluorescein leakage scores between the intravitreally YC-1-treated group and the control group was significant (p = 0.004). The mean thickness of the CNV lesions in the intravitreally YC-1-treated group (27.30 +/- 6.47 microm) was smaller than that of the control group (64.36 +/- 8.26 microm, p < 0.001). There was no ocular inflammation, retina hemorrhage or systemic toxicity induced by YC-1 treatment.
Conclusion: These results suggest that YC-1 inhibits the HIF-1 expression after photocoagulation and suppresses the development of laser-induced CNV formation.