Systemic soluble Tie2 expression inhibits and regresses corneal neovascularization

This study was designed to determine if soluble Tie2 (sTie2) expression inhibits and regresses corneal neovascularization, and if VEGF contributes to its effect. The corneas of BALB/c mice were scraped and the mice were injected with either an adenovirus expressing soluble Tie2 (Ad.sTie2) or an empty adenoviral vector. When injected at the inhibition timepoint (one day prior to corneal injury), the mean percentage of neovascularized corneal area two weeks later in Ad.sTie2-treated mice vs. controls was 56.37 ± 9.15% vs. 85.79 ± 3.55% (p = 0.04). At the regression timepoint (4 weeks after corneal scrape), the mean area of corneal neovascularization in Ad.sTie2-treated mice was 42.89 ± 4.74% vs. 75.01 ± 3.22% in the control group (p = 0.007). VEGF expression was significantly higher in Ad.sTie2-treated mice at the inhibition timepoint and there was no significant difference at the regression timepoint. These findings suggest that sTie2 inhibits and regresses corneal neovascularization in a VEGF-independent manner.