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Updated: May 5, 2026
The Corneal Micropocket Assay: A Model of Angiogenesis in the Mouse Eye
Published on: August 16, 2014
[Effects of pericytes on the leakage of rat corneal neovascularization]
Wei Zhao1, Meng-xiang Guo, Dao-man Xiang
1Department of Ophthalmology, Guangzhou Women & Children's Medical Center, Guangzhou 510623, China.
Objective:
To explore the effects of pericytes on the leakage of rat corneal neovascularization (CNV).
Methods:
CNV was induced by micropocket assay in rats. Two eyes of the same rat were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the VEGF + anti-PDGF-B pellet while the control group the VEGF + PBS pellet. Corneal samples were excised at Day 5 postoperation. CNV leakage was measured by Evans blue method. Pericyte coverage index (MPI) was applied to quantify the pericyte coverage through double immunofluorescent stain of frozen sections of corneas with CD31 as endothelial and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) as pericyte marker. Corneal weight was measured.
Results:
In the control group, MPI was 56.5%, cornea weight (7.36 ± 0.56) mg and CNV permeability rate (0.24 ± 0.07) µg×ml(-1)×mm(-2). In the experimental group, MPI was 11.3%, cornea weight (8.96 ± 1.09) mg and CNV permeability rate (0.68 ± 0.36) µg×ml(-1)×mm(-2). The intergroup difference was statistically significant (P MPI<0.01, P permeability= 0.01, P weight = 0.01).
Conclusion:
Pericytes inhibit the leakage of rat CNV. Such findings may guide the clinical management of hyperpermeability.
