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The Regulatory Role of Rac1, a Small Molecular Weight GTPase, in the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy.

ABSTRACT: Diabetic retinopathy, a microvascular complication of diabetes, remains the leading cause of vision loss in working age adults. Hyperglycemia is considered as the main instigator for its development, around which other molecular pathways orchestrate. Of these multiple pathways, oxidative stress induces many metabolic, functional and structural changes in the retinal cells, leading to the development of pathological features characteristic of this blinding disease. An increase in cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced by cytosolic NADPH oxidase 2 (Nox2), is an early event in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, which leads to mitochondrial damage and retinal capillary cell apoptosis. Activation of Nox2 is mediated through an obligatory small molecular weight GTPase, Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), and subcellular localization of Rac1 and its activation are regulated by several regulators, rendering it a complex biological process. In diabetes, Rac1 is functionally activated in the retina and its vasculature, and, via Nox2-ROS, contributes to mitochondrial damage and the development of retinopathy. In addition, Rac1 is also transcriptionally activated, and epigenetic modifications play a major role in this transcriptional activation. This review focusses on the role of Rac1 and its regulation in the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy, and discusses some possible avenues for therapeutic interventions.

SUBMITTER: Sahajpal N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6678477 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Regulatory Role of Rac1, a Small Molecular Weight GTPase, in the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Sahajpal Nikhil N Kowluru Anjan A Kowluru Renu A RA

Journal of clinical medicine 20190703 7

Diabetic retinopathy, a microvascular complication of diabetes, remains the leading cause of vision loss in working age adults. Hyperglycemia is considered as the main instigator for its development, around which other molecular pathways orchestrate. Of these multiple pathways, oxidative stress induces many metabolic, functional and structural changes in the retinal cells, leading to the development of pathological features characteristic of this blinding disease. An increase in cytosolic reacti ...[more]

PMID: 31277234

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Project description:Patients with long-duration diabetes develop cardiovascular complications resulting in highly increased mortality and complications which affect the kidneys, eyes and peripheral nerves associated with high morbidity. Among the diabetic complications, damage in the eye, diabetic retinopathy, is the most common microvascular complication of diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision-loss globally. It is characterized by a number of different patho-mechanisms including changes in vascular permeability, capillary degeneration, and finally at a late stage overshooting formation of new blood vessels. This expression analysis focused on the use of different experimental models for Diabetes Mellitus and its complications (for a review see 1: Al-Awar et al: Experimental Diabetes Mellitus in Different Animal Models. J Diabetes Res. 2016; doi: 10.1155/2016/9051426). By that, we wanted to uncover the relative contributions of systemic hyperinsulinaemia and/or hyperglycemia to molecular regulations. The following models have been used: As insulinopenic, hyperglycemic model reflecting Type 1 diabetes, male STZ-Wistar rats (60mg/kg BW; i.p.) were used. Wistar rats without STZ injection served as non-diabetic controls. Male obese ZDF rats (Fa/Fa) were used as type-2 diabetes model characterized by persisting hyperglycemia and transient hyperinsulinemia. Male lean ZDF rats (Fa/-) served as non-diabetic controls. Male obese ZF rats (Fa/Fa) hyperglycemia were used reflecting euglycemia and severe insulin resistance. Male lean ZF rats (Fa/-) served as controls. ZDF and ZF rats were obtained in two genotypes, obese (genotype fa/fa) and lean littermates (genotype Fa/?). All rats were housed in standard cages under a normal light-dark cycle for 16 weeks. All animals had free access to food and water. ZF and Wistar rats received a standard chow (Ssniff R/M) and ZDF rats received Purina 5008 chow. A group size of n=8 were used for all study groups. Wistar rats were rendered type-1 like hyperglycemic and hypoinsulinemic via a single injection of streptocotocin (STZ, 60mg/kg; i.p.) at 7 weeks of age. Obese ZDF rats (fa/fa) develop spontaneously a type-2 diabetes phenotype with persisting hyperglycemia and transient hyperinsulinemia (hyperglycemic, hypoinsulinemic). Obese ZF rats (fa/fa) develop insulin resistance with permanent hyperinsulinemia without concomitant hyperglycemia and no overt diabetes phenotype. Non STZ treated Wistar rats, lean ZDF littermates (Fa/?), and lean ZF littermates (Fa/?) served as controls. All groups were kept for 12 weeks on respective conditions together with appropriate age-matched controls. Unbiased gene expression analysis was performed per group using Affymetrix gene arrays.

Project description:PurposeGenome-wide association studies have suggested an association between a previously uncharacterized gene, FAM18B, and diabetic retinopathy. This study explores the role of FAM18B in diabetic retinopathy. An improved understanding of FAM18B could yield important insights into the pathogenesis of this sight-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus.MethodsPostmortem human eyes were examined with immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence for the presence of FAM18B. Expression of FAM18B in primary human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) exposed to hyperglycemia, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or advanced glycation end products (AGEs) was determined with quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and/or western blot. The role of FAM18B in regulating human retinal microvascular endothelial cell viability, migration, and endothelial tube formation was determined following RNAi-mediated knockdown of FAM18B. The presence of FAM18B was determined with qRT-PCR in CD34+/VEGFR2+ mononuclear cells isolated from a cohort of 17 diabetic subjects with and without diabetic retinopathy.ResultsImmunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence demonstrated the presence of FAM18B in the human retina with prominent vascular staining. Hyperglycemia, VEGF, and AGEs downregulated the expression of FAM18B in HRMECs. RNAi-mediated knockdown of FAM18B in HRMECs contributed to enhanced migration and tube formation as well as exacerbating the hyperglycemia-induced decrease in HRMEC viability. The enhanced migration, tube formation, and decrease in the viability of HRMECs as a result of FAM18B downregulation was reversed with pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), a specific nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) inhibitor. CD34+/VEGFR2+ mononuclear cells from subjects with proliferative diabetic retinopathy demonstrated significantly reduced mRNA expression of FAM18B compared to diabetic subjects without retinopathy.ConclusionsFAM18B is expressed in the retina. Diabetic culture conditions decrease the expression of FAM18B in HRMECs. The downregulation of FAM18B by siRNA in HRMECs results in enhanced migration and tube formation, but also exacerbates the hyperglycemia-induced decrease in HRMEC viability. The pathogenic changes observed in HRMECs as a result of FAM18B downregulation were reversed with PDTC, a specific NF-κB inhibitor. This study is the first to demonstrate a potential role for FAM18B in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.

Dataset Information

The Regulatory Role of Rac1, a Small Molecular Weight GTPase, in the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Publications

The Regulatory Role of Rac1, a Small Molecular Weight GTPase, in the Development of Diabetic Retinopathy.

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