Experimental study of the protective effects of SYVN1 against diabetic retinopathy

• DOI: 10.1038/srep14036
• Publication Date: 2015-09-11T09:15:19Z
• Authors: Shuo Yang; Heng He; Qi Si Ma; Yong Zhang; Ying Zhu; Xing Wan; Feng Wen Wang; Shuai Shuai Wang; Lei Liu; Bin Li
• Keywords: Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; 0301 basic medicine; Diabetic Retinopathy; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; NF-kappa B; Gene Expression; Retinal Vessels; Mice, Transgenic; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress; Article; Retina; Capillary Permeability; Disease Models, Animal; Mice; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Inflammation Mediators; Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP; Heat-Shock Proteins; Transcription Factor CHOP

AbstractGenetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR). While many studies have focused on genes that increase susceptibility to DR, herein, we aimed to explore genes that confer DR resistance. Previously, we identified Hmg CoA reductase degradation protein 1 (SYVN1) as a putative DR protective gene via gene expression analysis. Transgenic mice overexpressing SYVN1 and wild-type (WT) mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were used in this experiment. Retinal damage and vascular leakage were investigated 6 months after induction of diabetes by histopathological and retinal cell apoptosis analyses and by retinal perfusion of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated dextran. Compared with diabetic WT mice, diabetic SYVN1 mice had significantly more cells and reduced apoptosis in the retinal ganglion layer. Retinal vascular leakage was significantly lower in diabetic SYVN1 mice than in diabetic WT mice. The expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-related, pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic genes were also analyzed. Lower expression levels were observed in diabetic SYVN1 mice than in WT controls, suggesting that SYVN1 may play an important role in inhibiting ER stress, chronic inflammation and vascular overgrowth associated with DR. Thus, these results strongly supported our hypothesis that SYVN1 confers DR resistance.