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Novel CCR3 Antagonists Are Effective Mono- and Combination Inhibitors of Choroidal Neovascular Growth and Vascular Permeability - PubMed

Novel CCR3 Antagonists Are Effective Mono- and Combination Inhibitors of Choroidal Neovascular Growth and Vascular Permeability

Nori Nagai et al. Am J Pathol. 2015 Sep.

Abstract

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is a defining feature of wet age-related macular degeneration. We examined the functional role of CCR3 in the development of CNV in mice and primates. CCR3 was associated with spontaneous CNV lesions in the newly described JR5558 mice, whereas CCR3 ligands localized to CNV-associated macrophages and the retinal pigment epithelium/choroid complex. Intravitreal injection of neutralizing antibodies against vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, CCR3, CC chemokine ligand 11/eotaxin-1, and CC chemokine ligand 24/eotaxin-2 all reduced CNV area and lesion number in these mice. Systemic administration of the CCR3 antagonists GW766994X and GW782415X reduced spontaneous CNV in JR5558 mice and laser-induced CNV in mouse and primate models in a dose-dependent fashion. Combination treatment with antivascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 antibody and GW766994X yielded additive reductions in CNV area and hyperpermeability in mice. Interestingly, topical GW766994X and intravitreal anti-CCR3 antibody yielded strong systemic effects, reducing CNV in the untreated, contralateral eye. Contrarily, ocular administration of GW782415X in primates failed to substantially elevate plasma drug levels or to reduce the development of grade IV CNV lesions. These findings suggest that CCR3 signaling may be an attractive therapeutic target for CNV, utilizing a pathway that is at least partly distinct from that of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor. The findings also demonstrate that systemic exposure to CCR3 antagonists may be crucial for CNV-targeted activity.

Copyright © 2015 American Society for Investigative Pathology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

CCR3 and its ligands are expressed in the spontaneous choroidal neovascularization (CNV) lesions of JR5558 mice. A: CCR3 (anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 594, red) is expressed in the neo-vessels (fluorescein isothiocyanate-IB4, green) of the CNV (arrows) and in nonvascular cells associated the CNV (arrowheads) in eyes of JR5558 mice. B: The CCR3-expressing, nonvascular cells around the CNV are macrophages (F4/80, arrows, anti-rat Alexa Fluor 488, green). C: Some CNV-associated leukocytes (CD45, arrows, streptavidin Alexa Fluor 488, green) also express high levels of CCR3. D: There is no detectable CCR3 staining on the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE65, streptavidin Alexa Fluor 647, pseudo-green) directly under or around the CNV lesion (dotted line), whereas the lesion itself is highly positive for CCR3 (red). Note that the positive CCR3 staining is atop the RPE layer; compare RPE65 with CCR3. E and F: CC chemokine ligand (CCL)-11 (anti-goat Alexa Fluor 594, red) and CCL24 (anti-rabbit Alexa Fluor 594, red) are expressed by macrophages (F4/80, green, arrows) around the CNV (note that some ligands are not associated with cells and likely bind to the extracellular matrix). Animals at postnatal day 30 (P30) were used for A–D and P20 mice were used for the staining in E and F. G: Real-time PCR analyses of the relative expression of CCL11 and CCL24 mRNA show that both ligands are expressed at higher levels in the RPE/choroid complex of JR5558 mice compared with wild-type (WT) controls at P20, during the active phase of spontaneous CNV development. H: Protein levels of CCL11 and CCL24 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the RPE/choroid complex in both WT and JR5558 mice at P20. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. n = ≥3 eyes per group (G); n = 12 (H, CCL11); n = 8 (H, CCL24).∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01 versus levels in wild-type control. Scale bars = 20 μm.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Intravitreal injections of neutralizing antibodies against CCR3, CC chemokine ligand (CCL)-11, CCL24, or vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2 suppress spontaneous choroidal neovascularization (CNV) development in JR5558 mice. A and B: Average CNV area and lesion number per eye are significantly reduced by intravitreal injection with anti-CCR3 (1 μg), anti-CCL11 (1 μg), or anti-CCL24 (5 μg) at both time points tested, with therapeutic efficacy comparable to (if not better than) that of anti-VEGFR2 (5 μg per injection) antibody treatment, based on fluorescein angiography (FFA) analysis. C: Staining for neovessels (fluorescein isothiocyanate-IB4, green) and macrophages (F4/80, anti-rat Alexa Fluor 594, red, and highlighted in white by using ImageJ software in separate panels) in eyes from different treatment groups shows a trend of a reduction in macrophage recruitment after treatments with anti-CCR3, anti-CCL11, and anti-CCL24 compared with both vehicle and IgG2α controls. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. n = 10 to 15 eyes per group. ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, and ∗∗∗P < 0.001 versus IgG (1 μg per injection) control (unpaired t-test, corrected for multiple comparisons using the Holm-Šídák method). Scale bars = 20 μm.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Systemic administration of the CCR3 antagonist GW766994X attenuates laser-induced and spontaneous choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in mice. A: Representative fluorescein angiography (FFA) images from all treatment groups at the 2-week time point. B: Systemic GW766994X dose-dependently suppresses laser-induced CNV. Animals were dosed once daily (QD) or twice daily (BID) orally 1 day before laser injury, with treatment continuing for 14 days. C: Representative CNV staining (fluorescein isothiocyanate-IB4, white vessels) of eye cups (retina removed; optic nerve at center of image) from JR5558 mice shows reduction in CNV in GW766994X-treated mice. Images are from two individual animals from each treatment group from the experiment shown in D and E. D and E: Systemic i.p. dosing with CCR3 antagonist GW766994X significantly suppresses spontaneous CNV development in JR5558 mice. Both the average CNV area per eye (D) and number of lesions per eye (E) are reduced by systemic GW766994X treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Data are expressed as means ± SEM (E). n = 76 to 78 individual laser burns per group (B); n = 8 to 10 eyes per group (E). ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, and ∗∗∗P < 0.001 versus vehicle control. Scale bar = 1 mm (C).

Figure 4
Figure 4

Twice-daily (BID) dosing of GW766994X results in better efficacy in inhibiting spontaneous choroidal neovascularization (CNV) development. Inhibition of CNV development in JR5558 mice is seen on fluorescein angiography (FFA) analysis (A and B) and by immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of the eye cups (C and D). Data are expressed as means ± SEM. ∗∗P < 0.01, ∗∗∗P < 0.001 versus vehicle control. n = 14 to 15 eyes (A and B); n = 8 eyes (C and D).

Figure 5
Figure 5

Combination treatment with systemic anti–vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-2 antibody and GW766994X has an additive inhibitory effect on choroidal neovascularization (CNV) development and hyperpermeability. A and B: Systemic treatment of JR5558 mice with anti-VEGFR2 antibody, GW766994X CCR3 antagonist, and combination treatment all significantly reduce CNV area and number of lesions per eye, and combination treatment is significantly more effective in reducing CNV area per eye compared with either treatment alone. C: Short-term (2-day) systemic treatment with anti-VEGFR2 antibody, GW766994X, and combination treatment all significantly reduce CNV permeability per lesion per eye compared with control, with permeability defined as early phase fluorescein angiography (FFA) subtracted from late-phase FFA of the same lesion. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. n = 18 to 26 eyes per group (C); n = 24 eyes per group (B). ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, and ∗∗∗P < 0.001 versus vehicle control; †P < 0.05 versus both single treatments.

Figure 6
Figure 6

Topical GW766994X dose-dependently inhibits choroidal neovascularization (CNV) development in JR5558 mice, with systemic suppression of CNV in the untreated, contralateral eye. A and B: A dose-dependent inhibition of both CNV area and number of lesions per eye, as evaluated by fluorescein angiography (FFA), is observed after topical treatment of JR5588 mice with GW766994X. Twice-daily (BID) eye drop dosing at 10 mg/mL is as effective as twice-daily systemic i.p. treatment at 8 mg/kg. C and D: Twice-daily eye-drop dosing of GW766994X in only one eye (right eye) results in significant and comparable reduction in both CNV area and lesion number per eye in both the treated and the untreated eye (left eye), suggesting a significant systemic effect of eye-drop dosing of GW766994X. E: Immunohistochemical analysis of eye cups (central region, optic nerve at center) from mice treated twice daily with GW766994X eye drops shows a reduction in the number of macrophages [F4/80, anti-rat Alexa Fluor 594, and highlighted in white using ImageJ software version 1.46r (NIH, Bethesda, MD;

http://imagej.nih.gov/ij

)] associated with CNV in both the GW76699X-treated eye and the untreated contralateral eye, compared with vehicle control. F: A significant reduction in CNV-associated macrophages per field per eye, and per CNV per eye, as determined by image analysis, is observed with topical GW766994X treatment. G and H: Intravitreally injected antibodies against CCR3, showing systemic effect, significantly inhibiting CNV area and lesion number per eye in both the injected eye and the noninjected contralateral eye, especially at postnatal day 37 (after two intravitreal injections). Data are expressed as means ± SEM. n = 22 to 26 eyes per group (A and B); n = 10 eyes per group (C and D); n = 6 eyes per group (F); n = 5 or 6 eyes per unilaterally injected group and 11 or 12 eyes per bilaterally injected group (G and H). ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01, and ∗∗∗P < 0.001 versus control (unpaired t-test with correction for multiple comparisons using the Holm-Šídák method). Scale bars = 1 mm (E).

Figure 7
Figure 7

Systemic dosing with GW782415X significantly reduces the number of grade IV choroidal neovascularization (CNV) lesions in a primate model of laser-induced CNV. A: Representative fundoscopy [color fundus photography (CFP), day 2] and fluorescein angiography (FA) (days 16, 24, and 30) of primate eyes after laser-photocoagulation. Animals were treated orally with vehicle, GW782415X at 3 mg/kg three times per day (9 mg/kg per day), or GW782415X at 20 mg/kg three times per day (60 mg/kg per day), with treatment starting 1 day before photocoagulation and continuing for 29 days. B: Analysis of grade IV lesions in both the left and right eyes of individual cynomolgus monkeys treated as described in A shows a dose-dependent reduction in lesion number. C: Plasma exposure to GW782415 on days 1 and 21 after oral administration three times daily. Data are expressed as means ± SD. ∗P < 0.05 versus corresponding controls (with Holm's correction for suppression of grade IV CNV lesion); †P < 0.05 versus vehicle-treated controls (with Holm's correction for a significant dose-response for GW782415X in this model). n = 12 eyes per group (B); n = 6 animals per group (C).

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