Vascular Permeability and Apoptosis are Separable Processes in Retinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Effects of Ischemic Preconditioning, Bevacizumab and Etanercept Ischemia and reperfusion injury provides an acute model of ischemic retinopathy that includes neurodegeneration and VEGF-dependent vascular permeability and is amenable to rapid drug testing. The distinct effects of ischemic preconditioning and bevacizumab demonstrate that the apoptotic and vascular responses to ischemia may be separated and that VEGF expression is not neuroprotective following ischemic-reperfusion. Using transient ischemia followed by reperfusion (IR) to model ischemic retinal disease, this study compares the effects of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and therapies targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) on retinal apoptosis, vascular permeability and mRNA biomarker expression. Only the Ischemic Preconditioning (not Bevacizumab and Etanercept treated samples) were hybridized to arrays. Study contains 6 replicates of control and 6 IP treated retinal samples.