Research progress of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway regulating ocular pathological angiogenesis

Ocular pathological neovascularization diseases can significantly impair patients' visual acuity. At present, intraocular injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs is widely used as the first-line treatment, but there are limitations such as poor response and potential adverse reactions. Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway has the function of promoting embryonic development and maintaining tissue homeostasis, and is widely expressed in tissues in vivo. When the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is abnormally activated, the expression of downstream gene products can upregulate cytokines like hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), and then promote pathological neovascularization in the eye. The application of Wnt inhibitors can delay the progression of pathological angiogenesis in the eye. The study of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and pathological mechanism or ocular angiogenesis provides new potential targets for the treatment of ocular pathologic neovascularization diseases.