Retinal Vascular Development and Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies

The retina is among the most metabolically active tissues in the body and depends on a highly organized vascular network to meet its demand for oxygen and nutrients while sustaining the microenvironment required for vision. Retinal vasculature forms through a tightly coordinated process of endothelial proliferation, migration, patterning, remodeling, and maturation, during which endothelial cells acquire the specialized properties that establish the blood-retinal barrier (BRB). These processes are governed by interactions among endothelial cells, pericytes, glia, neurons, and immune cells, coordinated by VEGF, Norrin/FZD4, Notch, angiopoietin/Tie, and other signaling pathways.Disruption of these mechanisms underlies both inherited and acquired retinal vascular disease, including FEVR, Norrie disease, retinopathy of prematurity, Coats disease, and diabetic retinopathy, where BRB breakdown, vascular leakage, ischemia, and pathological neovascularization drive progression toward vision loss. Despite advances in anti-angiogenic therapy, current treatments do not address the full diversity of underlying mechanisms, and responses vary widely between patients. Recent advances in single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, genetic models, stem cell-derived vascular systems, organoids, and advanced imaging now allow retinal vascular biology to be examined at unprecedented resolution.This Research Topic brings together researchers and clinicians studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing retinal vascular development, specialization, homeostasis, and disease. We welcome original research, reviews, perspectives, and other relevant article types.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:Mechanisms of retinal vascular development: angiogenesis, patterning, remodeling, regression, and maturationBlood-retinal barrier development, specialization, and maintenanceSignaling and transcriptional regulation of retinal vascular biology (VEGF, Norrin/Wnt, Notch, angiopoietin/Tie)Cell-cell interactions within the retinal neurovascular unitVascular cell heterogeneity, metabolism, and plasticity in the developing, mature, aging, and diseased retinaMechanisms of retinal vascular disease, including leakage, inflammation, ischemia, and pathological neovascularizationEmerging approaches and disease models: single-cell and spatial omics, advanced imaging, genetic models, organoidsTherapeutic strategies targeting retinal vascular dysfunction, including biologics, RNA-based and gene therapies, and BRB-restoring approaches Topic editors: Rakesh Radhakrishnan, Tapan Sharma, Lingling Zhang, SHYAM S CHAURASIA Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80871/retinal-vascular-development-and-disease-mechanisms-and-therapeutic-strategies