UTSA COS Summer Research Experience for 2013
Eye Disease Development: Diabetic Retinopathy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration
A recent emphasis of Dr. Tsin's vision research lab is to learn how hyperglycemia and/or insulin induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion by retinal cells. Retinal pigment epithelial cells, retinal pericytes, and endothelial cells are maintained in culture. Growth factors such as VEGF, transforming growth factor (TGF), and bone morphological proteins (BMP) are assayed for protein end-product using ELISA. The expression of these proteins is measured by RNA protection assays. The lab is particularly interested in the effect of BMP-4, TGB-β, and PEDF on the secretion of VEGF by retinal cells. The long term goal is to learn how cytokines mediate angiogenesis leading to diabetic retinopathy or age-related macular degeneration.
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