A discovery published in Nature Medicine
A discovery from Dr Sylvain Chemtob team, member of the VHRN, in collaboration with two other members, Drs Mike Sapieha and Pierre Hardy, was published in Nature Medicine. The study shows for the first time the innovated concept on the migration of a GPCR (namely coagulation factor II receptor-like 1) from the plasma membrane to the nucleus of retinal neurons, which in turn regulates specific angiogenic genes (distinct from those traditionally activated by the plasma membrane receptor), and consequently governs in vivo retinal angiogenesis. Since many drugs act on GPCR irrespective of their site of action in the cell, the finding unveils the need to design drugs formulated to specifically target nuclear GPCR, to prevent the abnormal growth of retinal blood vessels and ensued blindness in ischemic retinopathies, such as of diabetes and prematurity.
For more information, please consult the full article.