Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complex disease displaying diverse vascular-associated complications, including upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A165, enhanced vascular permeability, and retinal angiogenesis. Current animal models do not fully replicate the spectrum of DR pathologies. In this study, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated long-term expression of human VEGF to establish angiogenic DR-related phenotypes in Brown Norway rats, as well as validate a novel artificial intelligence (AI) framework for autonomous quantification of retinal angiogenesis in a newly established DR model.
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