Photoreceptor-derived FGF2 mediates a protective stress response without driving pathological retinal neovascularization in ischemic retinopathy
The findings identify endogenous retinal FGF2 as a photoreceptor-derived survival factor that is induced during stress but is insufficient to drive pathological angiogenesis, and support a model in which neuronal adaptation and vascular remodeling represent partially distinct responses during ischemic retinal injury.