IMR Press / FBE / Volume 3 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/E234

Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
EPO attenuates inflammatory cytokines by Muller cells in diabetic retinopathy
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1 Institute of Health Sciences (IHS), Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM), Shanghai, China
2 Tongji Eye Institute and Department of Regenerative Medicine, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
3 Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
4 Department of Ophthalmology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
5 Department of Ophthalmology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
6 Department of Ophthalmology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2011, 3(1), 201–211; https://doi.org/10.2741/E234
Published: 1 January 2011
Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a chronic, low-grade inflammatory disease. We aimed to investigate the regulatory effects of erythropoietin (EPO) on the inflammatory cytokine production by Muller cells under the condition of DR. The expression levels of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6 and VEGF in cultured rat Muller cells were enhanced by 1 mM glyoxal. The elevated TNF-alpha and IL-1beta, but not IL-6 and VEGF, were decreased by 2 U/ml EPO as detected by real-time PCR and ELISA. Moreover, the activity of AP-1 but not NF-kappaB was modulated by glyoxal and EPO. Intravitreal injection of EPO performed 24 h prior to sacrifice significantly reduced TNF-alpha and IL-1beta production while moderately attenuating IL-6 and VEGF in the retinas of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Furthermore, Muller cells were identified as the main source of IL-1beta production as indicated by co-localization of IL-1beta and CRALBP in situ. These findings implicate therapeutic potential of EPO in the amelioration of inflammation in diabetic retinas.

Keywords
Diabetic Retinopathy
Erythropoietin
Inflammatory Cytokines
TNF-alpha
IL-1beta
Muller Cells
Activator Protein 1
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