The role of NF-kappaB in retinal neovascularization in the rat. Possible involvement of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC), a member of the interleukin-8 family.

Hypoxia precedes neovascularization in many retinal diseases that can lead to irreversible vision loss. The transcription factor NF-kappaB is activated by hypoxia and regulates the expression of many genes, including angiogenic factors. The relation between the NF-kappaB activation and the cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC), a member of the interleukin-8 (IL-8) family, was investigated by immunohistochemistry in a rat model of proliferative retinopathy presumably caused by relative hypoxia. Activated NF-kappaB and CINC immunoreactivity was detected in retinal glial cells in the nonperfused retina and in neovascular cells. Activated NF-kappaB was detected before the CINC staining, and both of these events occurred before the development of neovascularization. The intensity of both activated NF-kappaB and CINC staining remained increased during the development of neovascularization and then declined as neovascularization regressed. In rat retinal glial cells in vitro, dexamethasone, an inhibitor of NF-kappaB activation, prevented the hypoxia-induced increase in the amount of CINC mRNA. Furthermore, CINC induced neovascularization in a rat corneal pocket model. These results suggest that hypoxia-induced activation of NF-kappaB results in CINC production and participates in the induction of retinal neovascularization.