Feder project

AMD - New therapeutic targets for age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in people over 50 in developed countries. Current treatments only help to stabilize the disease. Additionally, resistance to these treatments appears inevitably leading to the irreversible loss of vision. It is therefore crucial to identify new therapeutic targets and develop tools to block them. We have identified a new potential therapeutic target whose expression has been correlated with increased neovascularization typical of AMD. Antibodies blocking this target have been produced in close collaboration with the biotechnology department of the CER group. Two types of antibodies have been produced: Single Chain Fragment Variable (scFv) generated by phage display technique and IgG antibodies produced by mouse immunization. Antibodies are selected through activity tests and in vitro functional assays. In order to test their therapeutic efficacy in a preclinical model, a new equipment adapted to rodents has been acquired and calibrated to induce the laser choroidal neovascularization accurately and reproducibly.

Contact  Laboratory of Biology of Tumour and Development - Cassandre Yip