Purpose: Corneal avascularity is tightly regulated by a balance between angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors (angiogenic privilege). In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that the CD36+/+ antiangiogenic receptor contributes toward the maintenance of corneal avascularity.
Methods: Corneas of CD36 wild-type (CD36) and knockout (CD36) mice aged 4, 16, 52, and 78 weeks were histologically evaluated for corneal haze and neovascularization (NV). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed on corneal tissue from CD36+/+ and CD36-/- mice aged 4 and 52 weeks to examine the effect of CD36 deficiency on expression of relevant angiogenic factors.
Results: Corneal haze and NV were absent in CD36+/+ mice at all ages. Conversely, corneal haze and NV were evident at 52 and 78 weeks in CD36-/- mice, and the latter demonstrated a significant increase in vessel density at 52 and 78 weeks. Interestingly, compared with CD36+/+ mice, in the corneas of 52-week-old CD36-/- mice, thrombospondin-1 messenger RNA was repressed, and vascular endothelial growth factor A, c-Jun N-terminal kinase-1, and c-Jun levels were robustly upregulated.
Conclusions: CD36-/- mice develop corneal NV that increases in severity with age, thus accentuating the role of CD36 in preserving corneal avascularity.