In mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy, which is a model of the ischemia-induced retinal neovascularization that characterises retinopathy of prematurity and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, endogenous opticin protects against pathological retinal neovascularization (Le Goff et al., 2012a, Le Goff et al., 2012b). Here, OPTC is linked to retinopathy of prematurity.