Anti-VEGF Drug for Viral Infection in Ocular Cells

The human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a retrovirus that is known to cause a range of diseases, including inflammatory eye conditions. Lately, HTLV-1-infected ocular cells have been the focus of research in Japan into an antibody treatment for inflammatory eye disease. Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) assessed the safety of the anti-VEGF drug Aflibercept in a cell culture model exposed to HTLV-1 in a recent study published in Frontiers in Immunology. Adult T-cell Leukaemia and HTLV-1 Uveitis, an inflammatory eye disorder, are both diseases that can be brought on by HTLV-1 infection.

A protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is essential for the creation of new blood vessels. Age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are two eye conditions known to be impacted by VEGF, and treatment with anti-VEGF antibodies, which limit the activity of VEGF, has been found to lessen the impacts of these conditions. Previous research has suggested that HTLV-1 mimics VEGF. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that VEGF selectively inhibits HTLV-1 entrance.

In the setting of HTLV-1 infection, the safety of intraocular anti-VEGF antibody therapy has not been assessed. Thus, using human retinal epithelial (RPE) cells and T cells that had been exposed to the HTLV-1 virus in a co-culture paradigm, the research team from TMDU set out to assess the safety of treatment with Aflibercept.

“We treated the co-cultured cells with the anti-VEGF drug Aflibercept and analyzed the expression of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which are released during the body’s immune response,” says the lead author of the study Yuan Zong.

The researchers also evaluated the pro-viral load, or the amount of virus present in the cells, as well as the proliferation of the cultured cells. The production of cytokines and chemokines was not affected by the use of anti-VEGF treatment.

“Additionally, our results showed that the anti-VEGF treatment did not increase the pro-viral load or proliferation of the RPE cells,” says senior author Kyoko Ohno-Matsui.

Treatment with the anti-VEGF drug did not appear to exacerbate inflammation in the eye related to HTLV-1 infection,” says corresponding author Koju Kamoi.

The research team’s findings offer early evidence that anti-VEGF medications do not worsen HTLV-1-related inflammation and may therefore be safe for intraocular usage in HTLV-1 carriers. This work, which made use of a cell culture model, provides the path for additional research into the effectiveness of anti-VEGF medication use in HTLV-1 patients utilizing animal or human models.

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