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Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Retinal Explant of the Adult Mouse Retina as an Ex Vivo Model for Studying Retinal Neurovascular Diseases
Published on: December 9, 2022
Formyl Peptide Receptor 1 Inhibits Reparative Angiogenesis and Aggravates Neuroretinal Dysfunction in Ischemic
Fengwei Zheng1, Weixin Li1, Chao Cheng1
1Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Purpose:
Ischemic retinopathy is the major cause of vision-threatening conditions. Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic retinopathy. Formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1) has been reported to be implicated in the regulation of inflammatory disorders. However, the role of FPR1 in the progression of ischemic retinal injury has not been fully explained.
Methods:
The activation of FPR1 was measured by real-time PCR and western blotting in the retina of OIR. The effect of FPR1 on the expression of inflammatory cytokines and relevant pro-angiogenic factors was assessed between wild-type and FPR1-deficiency OIR mice. The impact of FPR1 on retinal angiogenesis was evaluated through quantifying retinal vaso-obliteration and neovascularization between FPR1+/+ and FPR1-/- OIR mice. At last, the neuronal effect of FPR1 on the ischemic retina was investigated by ERG between wild-type and FPR1-deficient OIR mice.
Results:
The expression of FPR1 significantly increased in the retina of OIR. Furthermore, FPR1 deficiency downregulated pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic factors. Ablation of FPR1 suppressed the retinal pathological neovascularization and promoted reparative revascularization, ultimately improving retinal neural function after ischemic injury.
Conclusion:
In ischemic retinopathy, FPR1 aggravates inflammation and inhibits reparative angiogenesis to exacerbate neuronal dysfunction.

