Irradiation for inhibition of endothelial cell growth in vitro

The clinical effect of ionising radiation on ocular neovascularisations is controversial, not only because of the variety of treatment modalities. The aim of our study was to investigate an experimental model which allows to evaluate radiation parameters and to study the mechanism of the inhibitory effect on neoangiogenesis. In vitro experiments were performed using human umbilical vein endothelial cells and human corneal keratocytes. The cells were irradiated with different doses of photon beam radiation and counted daily after treatment. Cell cultures confirmed the efficiency of irradiation in inhibiting proliferation of vascular endothelial cells. Radiosensitivity was shown to be higher in vascular endothelial cells than in corneal stromal keratocytes. This might be helpful in investigating therapy parameters for treating ocular neovascularisations, as well as underlying mechanisms.