Andrius Kazlauskas

Signaling that drives angiogenesis

Many of the signaling events that contribute to angiogenesis have been identified, and this body of information provides the foundation to investigate how each signaling enzyme contributes to various phases of the angiogenic program.   For instance, phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt is required for initiating vessel formation, and inhibition of this signaling system promotes regression of existing vessels.   The molecular nature by which the PI3K/Akt pathway is antagonized is the focus of our current research effort.

Phases of the Angiogenic Program 

The role of PDGF in PVR

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is one of the growth factors that contribute to genesis of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) in animal models, and is associated with the disease in humans. One of the receptors for PDGF is particularly capable of inducing the disease in an experimental setting. Our strategy to identify events that promote PVR is to investigate the mechanistic basis for the unequal PVR potential of different PDGF receptors.

The molecular basis of diabetic complications

Endothelial dysfunction is a unifying theme in diabetic complications.  We developed a novel proteomics-based approach to identify proteins that are either contributing to, or indicative of dysfunction of the vascular endothelium. Using this screen we identified numerous previously unappreciated players. This information has been the starting point of our ongoing research to understand how diabetes-induced changes compromise the health of endothelial cells and precipitate complications such as atherosclerosis and retinopathy.

Developing a gene therapy-based approach for high-risk corneal transplantation

Loss of corneal endothelial cells is one of the reasons that a transplanted cornea is rejected. We are developing approaches to transfer genes into donor corneas. In addition, we are testing the hypothesis that overexpressing genes that promote survival will improve the success rate of corneal transplantation.