Intravitreal Administration of Retinal Organoids-Derived Exosomes Alleviates Photoreceptor Degeneration in Royal College of Surgeons Rats by Targeting the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway.

Increasing evidence suggests that exosomes are involved in retinal cell degeneration, including their insufficient release; hence, they have become important indicators of retinopathies. The exosomal microRNA (miRNA), in particular, play important roles in regulating ocular and retinal cell functions, including photoreceptor maturation, maintenance, and visual function. Here, we generated retinal organoids (ROs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells that differentiated in a conditioned medium for 60 days, after which exosomes were extracted from ROs (Exo-ROs). Subsequently, we intravitreally injected the Exo-RO solution into the eyes of the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rats. Intravitreal Exo-RO administration reduced photoreceptor apoptosis, prevented outer nuclear layer thinning, and preserved visual function in RCS rats. RNA sequencing and miRNA profiling showed that exosomal miRNAs are mainly involved in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. In addition, the expression of MAPK-related genes and proteins was significantly decreased in the Exo-RO-treated group. These results suggest that Exo-ROs may be a potentially novel strategy for delaying retinal degeneration by targeting the MAPK signaling pathway.

Astrocytic cystine/glutamate antiporter is a key regulator of erythropoietin expression in the ischemic retina.

Ischemic retinopathies and optic neuropathies are important causes of vision loss. The neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) in ischemic neuronal injury and the expression of EPO and its receptor in retinal tissue have been well documented. However, the exact regulatory mechanism of EPO expression in retinal ischemia still remains to be elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of cystine/glutamate antiporter (system xc-) in the regulation of astrocytic EPO expression by using both in vitro and in vivo models. Under hypoxia, the expression of astrocytic system xc- is up-regulated both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of system xc- resulted in depletion of intracellular glutathione (GSH) and decrement of GSH disulfide ratios in human brain astrocytes (HBAs). In HBAs, hypoxia-induced stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor (Hif)-2α is nearly completely abolished by inhibition of system xc-. Hypoxia-induced up-regulation of astrocytic EPO expression is suppressed by both pharmacological inhibition and siRNA-mediated knockdown of system xc-. In contrast, basal EPO expression under normoxia is not affected by system xc- modulation. In summary, under hypoxia, increased system xc- acts as the major source of intracellular GSH, which helps in stabilizing Hif-2α and subsequent up-regulation of EPO in astrocytes.-Lee, B. J., Jun, H. O., Kim, J. H., Kim, J. H. Astrocytic cystine/glutamate antiporter is a key regulator of erythropoietin expression in the ischemic retina.

Suppression of protein kinase C-ζ attenuates vascular leakage via prevention of tight junction protein decrease in diabetic retinopathy.

To investigate the effect of protein kinase C (PKC)-ζ inhibition on vascular leakage in diabetic retinopathy, streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice were intravitreously injected with siPKC-ζ. According to the fluorescein angiography of the retinal vessels, suppression of PKC-ζ effectively attenuated vascular leakage in diabetic retina. Further evaluation on the retina with western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry revealed accompanying restoration of tight junction proteins on retinal vessels. As two major contributors to vascular leakage in diabetic retinopathy, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were investigated on the tight junction protein expression in endothelial cells. Inhibition of PKC-ζ attenuated VEGF-induced decrease of tight junction proteins and accompanying hyperpermeability in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs). PKC-ζ inhibition also attenuated AGE-induced decrease of tight junction proteins in HRMECs. Our findings suggest that inhibition of PKC-ζ could be an alternative treatment option for compromised blood-retinal barrier in diabetic retinopathy.

Animal models of diabetic retinopathy: doors to investigate pathogenesis and potential therapeutics.

Effective and validated animal models are valuable to investigate the pathogenesis and potential therapeutics for human diseases. There is much concern for diabetic retinopathy (DR) in that it affects substantial number of working population all around the world, resulting in visual deterioration and social deprivation. In this review, we discuss animal models of DR based on different species of animals from zebrafish to monkeys and prerequisites for animal models. Despite criticisms on imprudent use of laboratory animals, we hope that animal models of DR will be appropriately utilized to deepen our understanding on the pathogenesis of DR and to support our struggle to find novel therapeutics against catastrophic visual loss from DR.

Role of mTORC1 activity during early retinal development and lamination in human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoids.

Retinal organoids derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) are powerful tools for studying retinal development as they model spatial and temporal differentiation of retinal cell types. Vertebrate retinal development involves a delicate and coordinated process of retinal progenitor cell (RPC) differentiation, and the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) has been reported to play a significant role in this complex process. Herein, using hiPSC-derived retinal organoids, we identify the time-dependent role of mTORC1 in retinal development, specifically in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) differentiation and the retinal lamination process, during the early stages of retinal organoid (RO) development. mTORC1 activity in ROs was the highest at 40 days of differentiation. MHY1485-induced hyperactivation of mTORC1 during this period resulted in a significant increase in the overall size of ROs compared to the untreated controls and rapamycin-treated Ros; there was also a marked increase in proliferative activity within the inner and outer layers of ROs. Moreover, the MHY1485-treated ROs showed a significant increase in the number of ectopic RGCs in the outer layers (indicating disruption of retinal laminar structure), with robust expression of HuC/D-binding proteins in the inner layers. These results demonstrate that mTORC1 plays a critical role in the development of hiPSC-derived ROs, especially during the early stages of differentiation.

Inhibition of protein kinase C delta attenuates blood-retinal barrier breakdown in diabetic retinopathy.

Vision loss in diabetic retinopathy is due to macular edema characterized by increased vascular permeability, which involves phosphorylation associated with activation of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Herein, we demonstrated PKC delta inhibition could prevent blood-retinal barrier breakdown in diabetic retinopathy. Increased vascular permeability of diabetic retina was accompanied by a decrease of zonula occludens (ZO)-1 and ZO-2 expression. In diabetic retina and advanced glycation end product-treated human retinal microvascular endothelial cells, vascular leakage and loss of ZO-1 and ZO-2 on retinal vessels were effectively restored or prevented with treatment of rottlerin, transfection of PKC-delta-DN, or siRNA for PKC delta. Interestingly, PKC delta translocated from cytosol to membrane in advanced glycation end product-treated human retinal microvascular endothelial cells, which was blocked by PKC delta inhibition. Taken together, PKC delta activation, related to its subcellular translocation, is involved in vascular permeability in response to diabetes, and inhibition of PKC delta effectively restores loss of tight junction proteins in retinal vessels. Therefore, we suggest that inhibition of PKC delta could be an alternative treatment to blood-retinal barrier breakdown in diabetic retinopathy.

Neurotrophin receptors TrkA and TrkB in retinoblastoma are differentially expressed depending on cellular differentiation.

Retinoblastoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in children. With the progression of retinoblastoma, retinoblastoma cells lose their ability to differentiate. Regardless of many attempts to identify prognostic factors in retinoblastoma, further investigation for prognostic factors of retinoblastoma progression is still required because of the lack of sensitivity and specificity of these prognostic factors in predicting disease progression. We demonstrated that the differential expression of the neurotrophin receptors TrkA and TrkB is closely related to the differentiation of retinoblastoma cells. While retinoblastoma cells expressed TrkA as well as TrkB, their growth rates were not influenced by the addition of nerve growth factor to the culture medium. In experimental animal models of retinoblastoma, TrkA expression was primarily detected in more differentiated areas with high nm23 immunoreactivity whereas TrkB expression was apparent in more proliferative areas with high Ki67 immunoreactivity. With retinoic-acid-induced differentiation of retinoblastoma cells, TrkA expression significantly increased whereas TrkB significantly decreased. The differential expression of TrkA and TrkB with differentiation of retinoblastoma cells was mediated by extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activation, which was confirmed by immunocytochemistry of TrkA. Therefore, our results suggest that the differential expression of TrkA and TrkB could be valuable as a therapeutic target, for instance using specific inhibitors.

Angiopoietin-1 reduces vascular endothelial growth factor-induced brain endothelial permeability via upregulation of ZO-2.

Brain microvessels possess barrier structures comprising tight junctions which are critical for the maintenance of central nervous system homeostasis. Brain vascular diseases, such as ischemic stroke damage to blood-brain barrier, increase the vascular permeability, and then lead to vasogenic brain edema. Herein, we examined whether angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) could regulate zonula occludens-2 (ZO-2) expression and counteract vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced vascular permeability. When we treated brain microvascular endothelial cells with Ang-1, Ang-1 caused a time- and dose-dependent increase of ZO-2 and down-regulation in endothelial permeability. VEGF, one of the key regulators of ischemia-induced vascular permeability, increased endothelial cell permeability in vitro, whereas, Ang-1 reversed this VEGF effect by up-regulating ZO-2 expression. Additionally, the recovery effect of Ang-1 on permeability was strongly blocked by siRNA against ZO-2. Collectively, our results suggest that Ang-1 shows anti-permeability activity through up-regulation of ZO-2.

Inhibition of choroidal neovascularization by homoisoflavanone, a new angiogenesis inhibitor.

PURPOSE: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in elderly. The detailed mechanism of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) leads to severe vision loss in patients with AMD. This study was undertaken to evaluate the inhibitory effect of homoisoflavanone on CNV. METHODS: Antiangiogenic activity of homoisoflavanone was evaluated by in vitro tube formation assay of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and cell migration assay of HUVECs., Homoisoflavanone or PBS was injected intravitreously into a mouse model of laser-photocoagulation-induced CNV. Fluorescein angiography and vessel counting in cross sections were employed to examine CNV lesions. The toxicity of homoisoflavanone was evaluated through 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay (MTT) assay in HUVECs as well as histological examination and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining in the retina. RESULTS: Homoisoflavanone effectively inhibited in vitro tube formation and cell migration of HUVECs. Interestingly, homoisoflavanone significantly reduced CNV and its leakage in a mouse model of laser-photocoagulation-induced CNV. In addition, homoisoflavanone showed no effect on cell viability of HUVECs and no retinal toxicity in a concentration range of 1-10 microM. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that homoisoflavanone is a potent inhibitor of CNV and may be applied in the treatment of other vasoproliferative retinopathies and tumor.

Novel Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α (HIF-1α) Inhibitors for Angiogenesis-Related Ocular Diseases: Discovery of a Novel Scaffold via Ring-Truncation Strategy.

Ocular diseases featuring pathologic neovascularization are the leading cause of blindness, and anti-VEGF agents have been conventionally used to treat these diseases. Recently, regulating factors upstream of VEGF, such as HIF-1α, have emerged as a desirable therapeutic approach because the use of anti-VEGF agents is currently being reconsidered due to the VEGF action as a trophic factor. Here, we report a novel scaffold discovered through the complete structure-activity relationship of ring-truncated deguelin analogs in HIF-1α inhibition. Interestingly, analog 6i possessing a 2-fluorobenzene moiety instead of a dimethoxybenzene moiety exhibited excellent HIF-1α inhibitory activity, with an IC50 value of 100 nM. In particular, the further ring-truncated analog 34f, which showed enhanced HIF-1α inhibitory activity compared to analog 2 previously reported by us, inhibited in vitro angiogenesis and effectively suppressed hypoxia-mediated retinal neovascularization. Importantly, the heteroatom-substituted benzene ring as a key structural feature of analog 34f was identified as a novel scaffold for HIF-1α inhibitors that can be used in lieu of a chromene ring.

Wondonin, a novel compound, inhibits hypoxia-induced angiogenesis through hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha.

Hypoxia regulates a variety of transcription factors including HIF-1, which has been considered a target for anti-angiogenic therapy. While searching for a novel anti-angiogenic agent that would inhibit HIF-1 activity, we identified wondonin, a new bis imidazole purified from an association of the sponges Poecillastra wondoensis. Wondonin significantly decreased hypoxia-induced HIF-1alpha protein and VEGF expression and inhibited angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, wondonin down-regulated HIF-1alpha protein through the increased interaction with the pVHL in immortalized human keratinocyte cell line. Wondonin also decreased the immunoreactivities of CD31 and VEGF in epidermal hyperplasia in mice. Taken together, these results suggested that wondonin had the potential to become the anti-angiogenic therapeutic agent to target HIF-1alpha.

AKAP12 induces apoptotic cell death in human fibrosarcoma cells by regulating CDKI-cyclin D1 and caspase-3 activity.

AKAP12 (A-Kinase anchoring protein 12) is a protein kinase C substrate and a potential tumor suppressor. AKAP12 is down-regulated by several oncogenes and strongly suppressed in various cancers including prostate, ovarian and breast cancers. AKAP12 acts as a regulator of mitogenesis by anchoring key signal proteins such as PKA, PKC, and cyclins. In this study, AKAP12 was found to suppress tumor cell viability by inducing apoptosis via caspase-3 in HT1080 cells. This AKAP12-induced apoptosis was associated with a decreased expression of Bcl-2 and increased expression of Bax. Moreover, AKAP12-transfectant strongly induced the expression of Cip1/p21 and Kip1/p27, but resulted in a decrease in cyclin D1 involved in G(1) progression. Accordingly, these results suggest that AKAP12 may play an important role in tumor growth suppression by inducing apoptosis with the regulation of multiple molecules in the cell cycle progression.

Disruption of outer blood-retinal barrier by Toxoplasma gondii-infected monocytes is mediated by paracrinely activated FAK signaling.

Ocular toxoplasmosis is mediated by monocytes infected with Toxoplasma gondii that are disseminated to target organs. Although infected monocytes can easily access to outer blood-retinal barrier due to leaky choroidal vasculatures, not much is known about the effect of T. gondii-infected monocytes on outer blood-retinal barrier. We prepared human monocytes, THP-1, infected with T. gondii and human retinal pigment epithelial cells, ARPE-19, grown on transwells as an in vitro model of outer blood-retinal barrier. Exposure to infected monocytes resulted in disruption of tight junction protein, ZO-1, and decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance of retinal pigment epithelium. Supernatants alone separated from infected monocytes also decreased transepithelial electrical resistance and disrupted tight junction protein. Further investigation revealed that the supernatants could activate focal adhesion kinase (FAK) signaling in retinal pigment epithelium and the disruption was attenuated by FAK inhibitor. The disrupted barrier was partly restored by blocking CXCL8, a FAK activating factor secreted by infected monocytes. In this study, we demonstrated that monocytes infected with T. gondii can disrupt outer blood-retinal barrier, which is mediated by paracrinely activated FAK signaling. FAK signaling can be a target of therapeutic approach to prevent negative influence of infected monocytes on outer blood-retinal barrier.

Antiangiogenic effect of betaine on pathologic retinal neovascularization via suppression of reactive oxygen species mediated vascular endothelial growth factor signaling.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) play important roles in pathologic retinal neovascularization. We investigated whether betaine inhibits pathologic retinal neovascularization in a mouse model of oxygen induced retinopathy (OIR). Betaine was intravitreally injected in OIR mice at postnatal day (P) 14. At P17, the neovascular tufts area in OIR retina was analyzed. Intravitreal injection of betaine (200µM) effectively reduced the neovascular tufts area in OIR retina (68.0±6.7% of the control eyes, P<0.05). Even in a high concentration (2mM), betaine never induced any retinal toxicity or cytotoxicity. Betaine significantly inhibited VEGF-induced proliferation, migration, and tube formation in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs). Betaine suppressed VEGF-induced VEGFR-2, Akt and ERK phosphorylation in HRMECs. In human brain astrocytes, betaine reduced tBH-induced ROS production, and subsequently attenuated tBH-induced VEGFA mRNA transcription via suppression of ROS. Our data suggest that betaine has an anti-angiogenic effect on pathologic retinal neovascularization via suppression of ROS mediated VEGF signaling. Betaine could be a potent anti-angiogenic agent to treat pathologic retinal neovascularization.

L1 increases adhesion-mediated proliferation and chemoresistance of retinoblastoma.

Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer in children, affecting 1/20,000 live births. Currently, children with retinoblastoma were treated with chemotherapy using drugs such as carboplatin, vincristine, and etoposide. Unfortunately, if conventional treatment fails, the affected eyes should be removed to prevent extension into adjacent tissues and metastasis. This study is to investigate the roles of L1 in adhesion-mediated proliferation and chemoresistance of retinoblastoma. L1 was differentially expressed in 30 retinoblastoma tissues and 2 retinoblastoma cell lines. Furthermore, the proportions of L1-positive cells in retinoblastoma tumors were negatively linked with the number of Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes, a characteristic of differentiated retinoblastoma tumors, in each tumor sample. Following in vitro experiments using L1-deleted and -overexpressing cells showed that L1 increased adhesion-mediated proliferation of retinoblastoma cells via regulation of cell cycle-associated proteins with modulation of Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and p38 pathways. In addition, L1 increased resistance against carboplatin, vincristine, and esoposide through up-regulation of apoptosis- and multidrug resistance-related genes. In vivo tumor formation and chemoresistance were also positively linked with the levels of L1 in an orthotopic transplantation model in mice. In this manner, L1 increases adhesion-mediated proliferation and chemoresistance of retinoblastoma. Targeted therapy to L1 might be effective in the treatment of retinoblastoma tumors, especially which rapidly proliferate and demonstrate resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs.

Dry age-related macular degeneration like pathology in aged 5XFAD mice: Ultrastructure and microarray analysis.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The two types of AMD are: dry and wet AMD. While laser-induced choroidal neovascularization has been used extensively in the studies of wet AMD, there is no established mouse model that fully recapitulates the cardinal features of dry AMD. A lack of appropriate mouse model for dry AMD has hampered the translational research on the pathogenesis of the disease and the development of therapeutic agents. We hypothesized that 5XFAD mice, an animal model for the study of Alzheimer's disease, can be used as a mouse model for dry AMD with regard to the amyloid beta (Aß) related pathology. In this study, the ultrastructure of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of 5XFAD mice was analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Of importance, the aged 5XFAD mice show ultrastructural changes in the RPE and Bruch's membrane (BM) that are compatible with the cardinal features of human dry AMD, including a loss of apical microvilli and basal infolding of the RPE, increased BM thickness, basal laminar and linear deposits, and accumulation of lipofuscin granules and undigested photoreceptor outer segment-laden phagosomes. In microarray-based analysis, the RPE complex of the aged 5XFAD mice shows differential gene expression profiles consistent with dry AMD in the inflammation response, immune reaction pathway, and decreased retinol metabolism. Taken together, we suggest that aged 5XFAD mice can be used as a mouse model of dry AMD to study Aß related pathology and develop a new therapeutic approaches.

Suppression of transient receptor potential canonical channel 4 inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor-induced retinal neovascularization.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of angiogenesis and thus contributes to many vasoproliferative retinopathies including retinopathy of prematurity. Based on the importance of canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels in VEGF signaling, we firstly evaluated the expression of TRPC channels in mouse retina by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. All seven TRPC channels were expressed in mouse retina. TRPC4 channels were chosen for further analysis based on their upregulation on hypoxic retina according to the GEO database under the identifier GSE19886. Interestingly, TRPC4 suppression by intravitreal injection of siRNA against mTRPC4 significantly inhibited retinal neovascularization. To further investigate the effect of TRPC4 suppression on neovascularization, human retina microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) that are responsible for initiating neovascularization in response to increased VEGF in OIR retina were transfected with siRNA against TRPC4. As we have expected, suppression of TRPC4 effectively inhibited VEGF-induced migration and tube formation as well. Further evaluation on VEGF signaling pathway by western blot analysis of signaling molecules discovered that VEGF-induced activation of ERK, p38 MAPK and AKT signaling pathways were inhibited by suppression of TRPC4. These findings suggest that suppression of TRPC4 could be an alternative therapeutic option for VEGF-induced retinal neovascularization.

Hypoxia-induced fibroblast growth factor 11 stimulates capillary-like endothelial tube formation.

Low oxygen or hypoxia can be observed in the central region of solid tumors. Hypoxia is a strong stimulus for new blood vessel formation or angiogenesis, which is essential for tumor growth and progression. Fibroblast growth factor 11 (FGF11) is an intracellular non-secretory FGF whose function has not yet been fully characterized. In the present study, we demonstrated that FGF11 expression is upregulated under hypoxic conditions in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). FGF11 overexpression stimulated capillary-like tube formation, yet did not affect cell migration. Notably, FGF11 markedly increased the levels of tight junction proteins including occludin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-5 in HUVECs. The FGF11 promoter contains hypoxia response elements (HREs), and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) binds to HREs to activate hypoxia-related genes. We demonstrated that hypoxia or HIF-1 expression under normoxic conditions increased the luciferase activity driven by the FGF11 promoter. However, deletion of the HREs from the FGF11 promoter rendered reporter gene activity unresponsive to hypoxia or HIF-1. Taken together, we propose that FGF11 may be involved in the stabilization of capillary-like tube structures associated with angiogenesis and may act as a modulator of hypoxia-induced pathological processes such as tumorigenesis.

STAT3 inhibition suppresses proliferation of retinoblastoma through down-regulation of positive feedback loop of STAT3/miR-17-92 clusters.

Retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular malignant tumor in children, is characterized by the loss of both functional alleles of RB1 gene, which however alone cannot maintain malignant characteristics of retinoblastoma cells. Nevertheless, the investigation of other molecular aberrations such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and miRNAs is still lacking. In this study, we demonstrate that STAT3 is activated in retinoblastoma cells, Ki67-positive areas of in vivo orthotopic tumors in BALB/c nude mice, and human retinoblastoma tissues of the advanced stage. Furthermore, target genes of STAT3 including BCL2, BCL2L1, BIRC5, and MMP9 are up-regulated in retinoblastoma cells compared to other retinal constituent cells. Interestingly, STAT3 inhibition by targeted siRNA suppresses the proliferation of retinoblastoma cells and the formation of in vivo orthotopic tumors. In line with these results, STAT3 siRNA effectively induces down-regulation of target genes of STAT3. In addition, miRNA microarray analysis and further real-time PCR experiments with STAT3 siRNA treatment show that STAT3 activation is related to the up-regulation of miR-17-92 clusters in retinoblastoma cells via positive feedback loop between them. In conclusion, we suggest that STAT3 inhibition could be a potential therapeutic approach in retinoblastoma through the suppression of tumor proliferation.

Hypoxia-mediated retinal neovascularization and vascular leakage in diabetic retina is suppressed by HIF-1α destabilization by SH-1242 and SH-1280, novel hsp90 inhibitors.

In diabetic retinopathy (DR), visual deterioration is related with retinal neovascularization and vascular hyperpermeability. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents are currently utilized to suppress retinal neovascularization and macular edema (ME); however, there are still concerns on the widespread use of them because VEGF is a trophic factor for neuronal and endothelial cells in the retina. As an alternative treatment strategy for DR, it is logical to address hypoxia-related molecules to treat DR because the retina is in relative hypoxia as DR progresses. In this study, we demonstrate that destabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) by SH-1242 and SH-1280, novel heat shock protein 90 (hsp90) inhibitors, leads to suppression of hypoxia-mediated retinal neovascularization and vascular leakage in diabetic retina. In vitro experiments showed that these inhibitors inhibited hypoxia-induced upregulation of target genes of HIF-1α and further secretion of VEGF. Furthermore, these inhibitors effectively suppressed expression of target genes of HIF-1α including vegfa in the retina of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mice. Interestingly, despite hsp90 inhibition, these inhibitors do not induce definite toxicity at the level of gene expression, cellular viability, and histologic integrity. We suggest that SH-1242 and SH-1280 can be utilized in the treatment of DR, as an alternative treatment of direct VEGF inhibition. Key message: SH-1242 and SH-1280 are novel hsp90 inhibitors similar to deguelin. HIF-1α destabilization by hsp90 inhibition leads to anti-angiogenic effects. Despite hsp90 inhibition, both inhibitors do not induce definite toxicity. HIF-1α modulation can be a safer therapeutic option than direct VEGF inhibition.