Protein could be key to treating eye disorder

LONDON (Reuters) - A protein that prevents blood vessels from forming in the cornea could become the basis of new treatments for cancer and macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, scientists said on Wednesday.

The team of international researchers identified a protein called sVEGFR-1 and found that when levels are low, blood vessels begin to form in the eye, impairing vision. They believe therapies that boost levels of this protein could prevent the formation of blood vessels.

The cornea, the transparent front part of the eye, has no blood vessels, which keep it clear and allows us to see, said Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, of the University of Kentucky in Lexington who headed the research team.

This information can help researchers devise treatments for macular degeneration and some cancers "because now you have a protein that blocks blood vessel growth that the body itself makes," added Ambati, who reported the findings in the journal Nature.

The lack of blood vessels has been perplexing researchers because the cornea contains vast amounts of VEGF-A, which promotes blood vessel growth.

The new protein discovered by Ambati and researchers from the United States, Japan, Italy and Australia provides the answer. It is produced in the cornea and acts like a mop, absorbing VEGF-A that would otherwise make blood vessels grow.

In one type of macular degeneration, new blood vessels grow behind the eye causing bleeding and scarring, which leads to distorted vision and impaired sight. Ten percent of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have the "wet" form that results from burst blood vessels.

The researchers are now focusing on understanding how the body produces the protein and how to deliver a synthesized version of it into the eye through eye drops. They have already studied the impact of the eye drops in small animal studies.