Effect of oxygen tension on the quantities of procollagenase-activating angiogenic factor present in the developing kitten retina.

Abstract

Maintenance of newborn kittens in an oxygen rich atmosphere followed by a recovery period in a normal atmosphere mimicked the effects of the human disease retrolental fibroplasia. The retinas of such kittens contained significantly raised levels of low molecular weight angiogenic material (as measured by procollagenase activation) when compared with those of a control group of kittens.