PDGFD-induced pericyte contractility drives pathological neoangiogenesis

In the oxygen-induced retinopathy mouse model, pericyte NMIIA is linked to neovascular tuft formation, while endothelial NMIIA promotes neovascularisation and limits tuft enlargement.

• Why it matters: Neovascular tufts are a hallmark of proliferative retinopathies, but how pericyte mechanics shape endothelial sprouting and tuft size is unclear.
• What they did: The study used inducible Myh9 deletion to test non-muscle myosin IIA and phosphorylated myosin light chains in endothelial cells and pericytes, then identified PDGFD as a ROCK-dependent driver of pericyte actomyosin contractility.
• The result: Deleting Pdgfd partially phenocopies pericyte NMIIA loss, reducing NVT formation and lowering NMIIA and phosphorylated MLC levels in NVTs, supporting PDGFD-ROCK-NMIIA as a therapeutic target.

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