Molecular defense against Retinopathy of Prematurity- prevention, prediction, diagnostics and treatment

In prematurely born infants retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a blinding disease, occurs due to the interruption of the feto-placental unit in the third trimester. Infants are also exposed to factors that are normally not present.

Our aim is to identify molecular mechanisms based on the disruption of the in utero environment that underlie ROP development and translate these studies into treatment studies for prevention.The project will; 1) evaluate if replacement of fetal factors reduced after preterm birth (growth factors, fatty acids and fetal blood components) will prevent ROP and other CNS related morbidities in preterm children and evaluate the impact of these factors for metabolism and inflammation; 2) assess new predictive risk factors for ROP a) neuro- angiogenetic factors b) metabolic factors; 3) improve screening and ROP outcome by the national patient register for ROP and validation of a new screening tool based on novel biomarkers; 4) perform follow-up studies to evaluate long-term morphological and functional effects of interventions.

The methods used are; implementation of a neonatal biobank (EPITOP), AI and machine learning, real-time PCR, and bioinformatics approach to metabolomics, proteomics, proteogenomics, lipidomics and transgenic mice.

These translational studies on the disease mechanisms lead to clearly defined strategies to promote normal retinal and brain development that are likely to lead to significant reduction in the morbidity of preterm infants.