1. ¹Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
2. ²Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
3. ³Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

Correspondence: Qiuhong Li, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0284, USA. E-mail: qli@ufl.edu

Received 2 December 2007; Accepted 6 July 2008; Published online 29 July 2008.

Abstract

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) occurs in a variety of chorioretinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and is the major cause of severe visual loss in patients with AMD. Oxidative stress has been thought to play an important role in the development of CNV. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase is one of the major intracellular sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the vascular system. In this study, we examined the expression of p22phox, an integral subunit in the NADPH oxidase complex, in the mouse eye. We determined that p22phox is expressed in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and inner retinal neurons. A small-interfering RNA (siRNA) designed against p22phox efficiently reduced the expression of the protein in the eye when delivered by means of recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector. Vector treatment inhibited CNV in the mouse when delivered into the subretinal space where RPE cells were transduced. These results suggest that NADPH oxidase–mediated ROS production in RPE cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of neovascular AMD, and that this pathway may represent a new target for therapeutic intervention in AMD.