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Published on: February 12, 2018
Circulating hematopoietic stem cells in patients with idiopathic choroidal neovascularization
Manabu Sasahara1, Atsushi Otani, Yuko Yodoi
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.
Insights
Impaired circulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) were found in patients with idiopathic choroidal neovascularization (iCNV). These functional deficits in HSCs correlate with iCNV size, suggesting their role in disease development.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Pathogenesis Research
Background:
- Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) studies previously linked circulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to choroidal neovascularization (CNV).
- The specific role of HSCs in idiopathic CNV (iCNV) pathogenesis remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of circulating HSCs in patients with iCNV.
- To determine if HSC activity correlates with iCNV severity.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study involving 13 iCNV patients and 10 healthy controls.
- Analysis of colony-forming capacity, migration, and invasion of cultured patient-derived HSCs.
- Comparison of HSC function between iCNV patients and controls, and correlation with CNV size.
Main Results:
- HSCs from iCNV patients showed significantly lower colony-forming capacity (CFU-Hill) compared to controls (12.8 vs. 67.6).
- Invasion activity of HSCs was also significantly reduced in iCNV patients.
- Impaired CFU-Hill correlated with larger CNV lesion size (>1500 microm).
Conclusions:
- Circulating HSCs exhibit impaired function in patients with iCNV, mirroring findings in AMD-related CNV.
- Reduced HSC activity is associated with iCNV severity, supporting their pathogenic role.
- These findings highlight the involvement of HSCs in the development of iCNV.
Purpose:
In a prior study, the correlation was investigated between circulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and the activity or severity of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The present study was designed to explore the role of circulating HSCs in the pathogenesis of CNV in patients with idiopathic (i)CNV.
Methods:
Thirteen patients with clinically documented iCNV and 10 age-sex matched patients without iCNV or systemic disease were enrolled in a case-control study. Circulating HSCs were collected from the patients' peripheral blood and cultured. Colony-forming capacity, migration activity, and invasion activity of HSCs were experimentally analyzed.
Results:
Colony-forming units by Hill's assay (CFU-Hill) were markedly lower (P<0.001) in patients with iCNV (12.8+/-3.2) than in healthy patients (67.6+/-12.6). Invasion activities of HSCs were reduced significantly in patients with iCNV. CFU-Hill was impaired in the patients (4.0+/-1.2) with CNV more than 1500 microm compared with the patients (20.3+/-4.0) with CNV less than 1500 microm (P=0.006).
Conclusions:
Similar to the previous finding of CNV associated with AMD, impaired functional activities of circulating HSCs were observed in patients with iCNV, which correlated with the size of iCNV. These results in young patients provide evidence to support the role of circulating HSCs in the pathogenesis of CNV.
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