Inhibitory effects of captopril on retinal neovascularization in mice

Objective To study the inhibitory effects of captopril on retinal neovascularization.Methods Sixty seven-day-old mice were randomly divided into experimental group and control group,30 mice in each group.These mice were exposed to 75% oxygen for 5 days and then to room air.The experimental group had been injected with captopril(2.7 mL·kg-1),while control group was treated with sodium chloride(2.7 mL·kg-1) by intravitreal injection for 5 days.The mice of both two groups were sacrificed on the 17th day after birth and the eyes were enucleated.Retinal stretched preparation was performed to assess the changes of retinal vessels,HE staining was applied to count the number of new vascular cell nucleus at retinal neovascularization,and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 was detected by immunohistochemical method.Results Compared with control group,regular distributions,good branches and reduced density of retinal neovascularization were observed in the experimental group.The number of nucleus of vascular endothelial cells breaking through the inner limiting membrane was less in experimental group(5.39±1.32) than that in control group(30.43±0.55)(P0.05).Stain of retinal matrix metalloproteinase-2 was weaker in experimental group than that in control group.Conclusion Intravitreal injection of captopril may block the retinal neovascularization in the oxygen-induced mouse model,and may provide an effective method for preventing vascular proliferative retinopathy.