Dual‐Target ROS‐Driven Spatiotemporal Senolysis for Vascular Repair and Immune Microenvironment Reprogramming in the Treatment of Ocular Fundus Neovascularization

Ocular fundus neovascularization (OFN) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Conventional antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies indiscriminately suppress pathological and reparative angiogenesis and fail to correct the senescence- and inflammation-driven microenvironment that sustains disease progression. Senescent endothelial cells (ECs) form the structural scaffold of pathological vessels, while neighboring senescent microglia exacerbate inflammatory signaling, together deteriorating the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-rich vascular-immune microenvironment. Here, we develop an injectable ROS-responsive senolytic hydrogel (PCC1/PHCF-Gel) that enables lesion-activated, sustained intraocular release of procyanidin C1 (PCC1), overcoming rapid clearance, oxidative degradation, and poor lesion retention associated with free PCC1. In oxygen-induced retinopathy and choroidal neovascularization models, PCC1/PHCF-Gel markedly reduces retinal senescence, suppresses pathological neovascularization, and restores neuroretinal function, outperforming symptom-directed therapies anti-VEGF therapy. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals selective elimination of two pathogenic senescent cell subpopulations-CXCR4<sup>+</sup> ECs and IFITM3<sup>+</sup> microglia-thereby disrupting the reinforcing cycle of vascular and immune senescence and promoting reparative vascular regeneration. These findings establish a multifunctional, spatiotemporally controlled therapeutic paradigm and highlight PCC1/PHCF-Gel as a promising translational strategy for the precision treatment of OFN.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Science
Published
2026-02-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202523495
Primary Topic
Retinal Diseases and Treatments
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Dual‐Target ROS‐Driven Spatiotemporal Senolysis for Vascular Repair and Immune Microenvironment Reprogramming in the Treatment of Ocular Fundus Neovascularization

Kangjia Lv, Chong Chen, Xun Xu, Junwei Fang et al.
Advanced Science
Retinal Diseases and Treatments
article

Dual‐Target ROS‐Driven Spatiotemporal Senolysis for Vascular Repair and Immune Microenvironment Reprogramming in the Treatment of Ocular Fundus Neovascularization

Kangjia Lv, Chong Chen, Xun Xu, Junwei Fang, Yifan Wang, Peiyu Liu, Xiaoqian Wang, T Chen, Yali Zhou, Fang Wei, Zhaoyang Wang
article en

Abstract

Ocular fundus neovascularization (OFN) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss. Conventional antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies indiscriminately suppress pathological and reparative angiogenesis and fail to correct the senescence- and inflammation-driven microenvironment that sustains disease progression. Senescent endothelial cells (ECs) form the structural scaffold of pathological vessels, while neighboring senescent microglia exacerbate inflammatory signaling, together deteriorating the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-rich vascular-immune microenvironment. Here, we develop an injectable ROS-responsive senolytic hydrogel (PCC1/PHCF-Gel) that enables lesion-activated, sustained intraocular release of procyanidin C1 (PCC1), overcoming rapid clearance, oxidative degradation, and poor lesion retention associated with free PCC1. In oxygen-induced retinopathy and choroidal neovascularization models, PCC1/PHCF-Gel markedly reduces retinal senescence, suppresses pathological neovascularization, and restores neuroretinal function, outperforming symptom-directed therapies anti-VEGF therapy. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals selective elimination of two pathogenic senescent cell subpopulations-CXCR4<sup>+</sup> ECs and IFITM3<sup>+</sup> microglia-thereby disrupting the reinforcing cycle of vascular and immune senescence and promoting reparative vascular regeneration. These findings establish a multifunctional, spatiotemporally controlled therapeutic paradigm and highlight PCC1/PHCF-Gel as a promising translational strategy for the precision treatment of OFN.

Advanced ScienceVol. 13(16)
Beijing Tongren Hospital (CN), Capital Medical University (CN), Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention & Treatment Center (CN)
National Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Science and Technology Major Project
Openalex Percentile: Top 54%
Retinal Diseases and Treatments
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.