Essential contribution of macrophage Tie2 signal mediated autophagy in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization

Abstract Autophagy plays critical roles in various ocular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Tie2-expressing macrophages (TEMs) play crucial roles in angiogenesis. To investigate the role of TEMs and autophagy in the development of AMD, we employed macrophage-specific Tie2 knockout mice and used a laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The results showed that TEMs can promote CNV formation by up-regulating the level of autophagy. These results were further verified by in vitro cell experiments that peritoneal macrophages from Tie2 knockout mice can inhibit the expression of autophagy-related factors and inhibit the expression of angiogenic factor of VEGF by activating AMPK signaling pathway. Our results suggest that TEMs and macrophage Tie2 signal mediated-autophagy play critical role in experimental CNV, and they may be novel preventive targets for AMD treatment.