The HIF-1 inhibitor 32-134D prevented VEGF and ANGPTL4 expression and, when combined with aflibercept, was more effective than either drug alone for treating choroidal neovascularization in mice.
Does the HIF-1 inhibitor 32-134D alone or combined with aflibercept improve treatment of choroidal neovascularization compared to aflibercept alone?
HIF-1 inhibition with 32-134D prevents the compensatory increase in ANGPTL4 following anti-VEGF therapy, offering a potential new treatment strategy for nvAMD.
Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss in the elderly in the developed world. While the introduction of therapies targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has provided the first opportunity to significantly improve vision in patients with nvAMD, many patients respond inadequately to current anti-VEGF therapies. It was recently demonstrated that expression of a second angiogenic mediator, angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4), synergizes with VEGF to promote choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in mice and correlates with reduced response to anti-VEGF therapy in patients with nvAMD. Here, we report that expression of ANGPTL4 in patients with nvAMD increases following treatment with anti-VEGF therapy and that this increase is dependent on accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α in response to inhibition of VEGF/KDR signaling in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). We therefore explored HIF-1 inhibition with 32-134D, a recently developed pharmacologic HIF-inhibitor, for the treatment of nvAMD. 32-134D prevented the expression of both VEGF and ANGPTL4 and was at least as effective as aflibercept in treating CNV in mice. Moreover, by preventing the increase in HIF-1α accumulation in the RPE in response to anti-VEGF therapy, combining 32-134D with aflibercept was more effective than either drug alone for the treatment of CNV. Collectively, these results help explain why many patients with nvAMD respond inadequately to anti-VEGF therapy and suggest that the HIF inhibitor 32-134D will be an effective drug-alone or in combination with current anti-VEGF therapies-for the treatment of patients with this blinding disease.
Sharma et al. (Tue,) conducted a other in Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nvAMD). 32-134D (HIF-1 inhibitor) alone or with aflibercept vs. Aflibercept alone was evaluated on Expression of VEGF and ANGPTL4, and treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The HIF-1 inhibitor 32-134D prevented VEGF and ANGPTL4 expression and, when combined with aflibercept, was more effective than either drug alone for treating choroidal neovascularization in mice.