The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common and serious microvascular complications of diabetes. Although current treatments can control the progression of DR to a certain extent, there is no effective treatment for early DR. Apart from vascular endothelial growth factor, it has been noted t...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/23/14680 |
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| author | Jing Feng Weiqiang Yang Fuxiao Luan Fang Ma Yingjie Wang Yiquan Zhang Xuhui Liu Li Chen Xiaofeng Hu Yong Tao |
| author_facet | Jing Feng Weiqiang Yang Fuxiao Luan Fang Ma Yingjie Wang Yiquan Zhang Xuhui Liu Li Chen Xiaofeng Hu Yong Tao |
| author_sort | Jing Feng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common and serious microvascular complications of diabetes. Although current treatments can control the progression of DR to a certain extent, there is no effective treatment for early DR. Apart from vascular endothelial growth factor, it has been noted that the apelin/APJ system contributes to the pathogenesis of DR. We used a high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mouse model. The mice were divided into a lentivirus control group (LV-EGFP), an apelin-overexpression group (LV-Apelin+), and an apelin-knockdown group (LV-Apelin−), all of which were administrated intravitreal injections. LV-Apelin+ ameliorated the loss of pericytes in DR mice, whereas LV-Apelin− aggravated the loss of pericytes. Similarly, LV-Apelin+ reduced the leakage of retinal vessels, whereas LV-Apelin− exacerbated it. The genes and signaling pathway related to cell adhesion molecules were downregulated, whereas the cell–cell tight junctions and anti-apoptotic genes were upregulated in response to apelin overexpression. However, the alterations of these same genes and signaling pathways were reversed in the case of apelin knockdown. Additionally, LV-Apelin+ increased ZO-1 and occludin levels, whereas LV-Apelin− decreased them. Our results suggest that apelin can reduce vascular leakage by protecting pericytes, which offers a promising new direction for the early treatment of DR. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:46:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f39c72063ba7418fa0bf89d2c8944c56 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:46:59Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-f39c72063ba7418fa0bf89d2c8944c562023-11-24T11:06:05ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672022-11-0123231468010.3390/ijms232314680The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic RetinopathyJing Feng0Weiqiang Yang1Fuxiao Luan2Fang Ma3Yingjie Wang4Yiquan Zhang5Xuhui Liu6Li Chen7Xiaofeng Hu8Yong Tao9Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, ChinaDiabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common and serious microvascular complications of diabetes. Although current treatments can control the progression of DR to a certain extent, there is no effective treatment for early DR. Apart from vascular endothelial growth factor, it has been noted that the apelin/APJ system contributes to the pathogenesis of DR. We used a high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mouse model. The mice were divided into a lentivirus control group (LV-EGFP), an apelin-overexpression group (LV-Apelin+), and an apelin-knockdown group (LV-Apelin−), all of which were administrated intravitreal injections. LV-Apelin+ ameliorated the loss of pericytes in DR mice, whereas LV-Apelin− aggravated the loss of pericytes. Similarly, LV-Apelin+ reduced the leakage of retinal vessels, whereas LV-Apelin− exacerbated it. The genes and signaling pathway related to cell adhesion molecules were downregulated, whereas the cell–cell tight junctions and anti-apoptotic genes were upregulated in response to apelin overexpression. However, the alterations of these same genes and signaling pathways were reversed in the case of apelin knockdown. Additionally, LV-Apelin+ increased ZO-1 and occludin levels, whereas LV-Apelin− decreased them. Our results suggest that apelin can reduce vascular leakage by protecting pericytes, which offers a promising new direction for the early treatment of DR.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/23/14680apelinpericytesvascular leakageearly stages of diabetic retinopathyprotective role |
| spellingShingle | Jing Feng Weiqiang Yang Fuxiao Luan Fang Ma Yingjie Wang Yiquan Zhang Xuhui Liu Li Chen Xiaofeng Hu Yong Tao The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy International Journal of Molecular Sciences apelin pericytes vascular leakage early stages of diabetic retinopathy protective role |
| title | The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy |
| title_full | The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy |
| title_fullStr | The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy |
| title_short | The Protective Role of Apelin in the Early Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy |
| title_sort | protective role of apelin in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy |
| topic | apelin pericytes vascular leakage early stages of diabetic retinopathy protective role |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/23/14680 |
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