PDGFRβ plays an essential role in patient vitreous-stimulated contraction of retinal pigment epithelial cells from epiretinal membranes

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is associated with clinical proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), which is characterized by formation of sub- or epi-retinal membranes that consist of cells including retinal pigment epithelial （RPE） cells and extracellular matrix. RPE cells play an important role in PVR pathogenesis. Previous findings indicated that PDGF receptor (PDGFR)α was essential in experimental PVR induced by fibroblasts. In RPE cells derived from epiretinal membranes from patients with PVR (RPEMs)， Akt was activated by PDGF-B but not PDGF-A, which suggested that PDGFRβ was the predominant PDGFR isoform expressed in RPEMs. Indeed, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated depletion of PDGFRβ in RPEMs attenuated patient vitreous-induced Akt activation and cellular responses intrinsic to PVR including cell proliferation, migration, and contraction. We conclude that PDGFRβ appears to be the PVR relevant PDGFR isoform in RPEMs. •The predominant PDGFR isoform in RPE cells isolated from PVR membranes is PDGFRβ.•Depletion of PDGFRβ in RPEMs suppresses vitreous-stimulated Akt activation and cell contraction.•PDGFRβ is a potential target for PVR therapy.