Evaluation of CD206 agonists in diabetic retinopathy

National Center For Advancing Translational Sciences

Investigators

Abstract

The condition called diabetic retinopathy stems from damage to the blood vessels of the retina caused by diabetes. This is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in the United States. No treatment is available in the early stages of the disease, which also frequently have no symptoms. This project seeks to evaluate the capacity of CD206 agonists to prevent or reverse fibrosis associated with diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness. During this period the team evaluated the activity of several CD206 agonists (peptide and small molecule) in a mouse model of diabetic retinopathy developed by Dr. Uemara. Initial in vivo experiments showed promising results with a reduction of inflammation and prevention of fibrosis in the eye.