Glutathione levels are reduced in diabetic rat retina but are not influenced by ischemia followed by recirculation

Early changes in system [Formula: see text] and glutathione in the retina of diabetic rats

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), the main cause of blindness among diabetic patients, affects both neuronal and vascular cells of the retina. Studies show that neuronal cell death begins after 4 weeks of diabetes and could be related with an increase in oxidative stress. System [Formula: see text] is a glutamate/cystine exchanger, formed by a catalytic subunit called xCT and a regulatory subunit 4F2hc, whose activity is crucial to the synthesis of glutathione, which is a key antioxidant molecule for cells. Although some studies have shown that glutamate transport mediated by excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) in diabetic rats is downregulated, there are no studies investigating system [Formula: see text] in this context. To evaluate whether system [Formula: see text] is modified by early onset of diabetes, primary retinal cell culture exposed to high glucose and retinas of rats 3 weeks after streptozotocin injection were used. We observed that xCT subunit protein expression both in cultures and in vivo were diminished. Furthermore, system [Formula: see text] activity and GSH levels were also decreased whereas oxidative stress was increased in retinas of diabetic animals. Therefore, this study raises the possibility that alterations in system [Formula: see text] expression and activity could occur during early onset of diabetes. In that way, system [Formula: see text] modifications could be related to increased ROS in diabetic retinopathy.

The relationship between the level of glutathione, impairment of glucose metabolism and complications of diabetes mellitus

Objective: To investigate whether there is a difference between the subjects with new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and normal fasting blood glucose levels with respect to the level of glutathione (GSH) and the relationship between the presence of complication of diabetes and the level of GSH.

Methods: Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was performed in IFG patients, with no episode of drug use, who were admitted to hospital. According to the results of the application 30 subjects with type 2 DM, 30 subjects with IGT and 28 subjects with normal blood glucose level were included in the study. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure values of all subjects were recorded. The biochemical parameters of subjects were studied in the biochemistry laboratory by utilizing Olympus AV-2700. The subjects with diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy were established subsequent to the examination of the retina and 24-hour urine collection test performed to subjects with diagnosis of DM. Levels of GSH in all subjects were measured by enzymatic recycling method.

Results: The mean levels of GSH in subjects with DM were significantly reduced compared with IGT or normal subjects (respectively p=0.02 and p<0.001). Besides, lower levels of GSH were acquired in subjects with IGT compared to normal subjects (p<0.001). The mean levels of GSH in subjects with diabetic retinopathy were lower than the subjects with no established diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy (p<0.001). Similarly, lower levels of GSH (p<0.001) were obtained in microalbuminuric subjects than normoalbuminuric subjects.

Conclusions: At the end of the study, we came to the conclusion that GSH deficiency was of great significance in the pathogenesis of Diabetes Mellitus.

Curcumin prevents experimental diabetic retinopathy in rats through its hypoglycemic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of oral curcumin (1 g/kg body weight of rat) in the prevention and treatment of streptozotocin-induced diabetic retinopathy in Wistar albino rats.

METHODS

The treatment was carried out for a period of 16 weeks in diabetic rats and evaluated for hyperglycemic, antioxidant (superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione), and inflammatory parameters (tumor necrosis factor-α, vascular endothelial growth factor). Rat fundus was observed weekly to see any visible changes in the retina, such as tortuosity and dilation of retinal vessels. Histological changes were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy.

RESULTS

Treatment with curcumin showed significant hypoglycemic activity compared with the diabetic group. Retinal glutathione levels were decreased by 1.5-fold, and antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and catalase, showed >2-fold decrease in activity in the diabetic group; on the other hand, curcumin positively modulated the antioxidant system. Proinflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor, were elevated >2-fold in the diabetic retinae, but prevented by curcumin. Transmission electron microscopy showed degeneration of endothelial cell organelles and increase in capillary basement membrane thickness in diabetic retina, but curcumin prevented the structural degeneration and increase in capillary basement membrane thickness in the diabetic rat retinae.

CONCLUSION

Based on the above results, it may be concluded that curcumin may have potential benefits in the prevention of retinopathy in diabetic patients.

Expression of antioxidant enzymes in rat retinal ischemia followed by reperfusion

To evaluate the expression and protein levels of antioxidant enzymes in the rat retina exposed to oxidative stress induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury. Retinal ischemia was induced in female Wistar rats by ligation of the optic nerve and vessels behind the left eye bulb, and was followed by reperfusion for 0, 3, 6, or 24 hours. The right eye served as control. RNA and protein were extracted simultaneously from each retina. Expressions of the endogenous antioxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx1), catalase (CAT), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase, and the catalytic subunit of glutamylcysteine ligase (GCLc) were analyzed with real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and related to the endogenous control cyclophilin B. Protein levels were measured with Western blot analysis. During the early phase (0 or 3 hours) of reperfusion, no changes were seen in enzyme expression. After 6 hours, GCLc expression increased by a factor of 1.14 (P = .034), followed by a decline of 0.80 after 24 hours (P = .00004), according to the comparative Ct method. After 24 hours of reperfusion, GPx1 expression increased by a factor of 1.14 (P = .028), and CAT had decreased by 0.82 (P = .022). Expressions of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase and manganese superoxide dismutase showed a tendency toward a decrease by factors of 0.86 (P = .055) and 0.88 (P = .053), respectively, after 24 hours. Protein levels did not differ for any of the antioxidants, regardless of reperfusion time. The slightly increased messenger RNA expression of GPx1 after 24 hours of reperfusion with a concomitant very modest decrease in CAT and GCLc expression and no change in protein levels indicate a very modest, if any, response to oxidative stress generated by ischemia followed by reperfusion in rat retina.

Increased sorbitol pathway activity generates oxidative stress in tissue sites for diabetic complications

Chronic diabetic complications, in particular, nephropathy, peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, "diabetic foot," retinopathy, and cardiovascular disease, remain the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus. Growing evidence indicates that both increased activity of the sorbitol pathway of glucose metabolism and enhanced oxidative stress are the leading factors in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. The relation between the two mechanisms remains the area of controversy. One group has reported that increased sorbitol pathway activity has a protective rather than detrimental role in complication-prone tissues because the pathway detoxifies toxic lipid peroxidation products. Others put forward a so-called "unifying hypothesis" suggesting that activation of several major pathways implicated in diabetic complications (e.g., sorbitol pathway) occurs due to increased production of superoxide anion radicals in mitochondria and resulting poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation. This review (a) presents findings supporting a key role for the sorbitol pathway in oxidative stress and oxidative stress-initiated downstream mechanisms of diabetic complications, and (b) summarizes experimental evidence against a detoxifying role of the sorbitol pathway, as well as the "unifying concept."

Bovine retinal pericytes are resistant to glucose-induced oxidative stress in vitro

Diabetic retinopathy is a sight-threatening complication of diabetes, and loss of pericytes represents early signs of its development. We tested the hypothesis that high glucose levels may induce signs of oxidative stress in cultured bovine retinal pericytes. Pericytes were exposed to either normal (5.5 mM) or high (22 mM) glucose levels for 1, 3, and 5 days. Signs of oxidative stress were measured by expression of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase, manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase using real-time RTPCR. To elucidate the role of oxidative stress, we also measured glutathione (GSH) concentration in the cells and investigated the impact of thiol-reactive metal ions and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) on intracellular GSH. Despite the stimulation with high glucose, thiol-reactive metal ions, or H(2)O(2), there was no clear increased expression of antioxidant enzymes or influence of GSH levels. Lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde level) was increased in bovine aortic smooth muscle cells, but not in bovine retinal pericytes. The data indicate that pericytes do not develop oxidative stress in response to hyperglycemia. However, it is not definitively excluded that oxidative stress may occur after longer time periods of glucose stimulation.

The retina: oxidative stress and diabetes

A prominent and early feature of the retinopathy of diabetes mellitus is a diffuse increase in vascular permeability. As the disease develops, the development of frank macular oedema may result in vision loss. That reactive oxygen species production is likely to be elevated in the retina, and that certain regions of the retina are enriched in substrates for lipid peroxidation, may create an environment susceptible to oxidative damage. This may be more so in the diabetic retina, where hyperglycaemia may lead to elevated oxidant production by a number of mechanisms, including the production of oxidants by vascular endothelium and leukocytes. There is substantial evidence from animal and clinical studies for both impaired antioxidant defences and increased oxidative damage in the retinae of diabetic subjects that have been, in the case of animal studies, reversible with antioxidant supplementation. Whether oxidative damage has a causative role in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy, and thus whether antioxidants can prevent or correct any retinal damage, has not been established, nor has the specific nature of any damaging species been characterised.

How does glucose generate oxidative stress in peripheral nerve?

Diabetes-associated oxidative stress is clearly manifest in peripheral nerve, dorsal root, and sympathetic ganglia of the peripheral nervous system and endothelial cells and is implicated in nerve blood flow and conduction deficits, impaired neurotrophic support, changes in signal transduction and metabolism, and morphological abnormalities characteristic of peripheral diabetic neuropathy (diabetic peripheral neuropathy). Hyperglycemia has a key role in oxidative stress in diabetic nerve, whereas the contribution of other factors, such as endoneurial hypoxia, transition metal imbalance, and hyperlipidemia, has not been rigorously proven. It has been suggested that oxidative stress, particularly mitochondrial superoxide production, is responsible for sorbitol pathway hyperactivity, nonenzymatic glycation/glycooxidation, and activation of protein kinase C. However, this concept is not supported by in vivo studies demonstrating the lack of any inhibition of the sorbitol pathway activity in peripheral nerve, retina, and lens by antioxidants, including potent superoxide scavengers. Its has been also hypothesized that aldose reductase (AR) detoxifies lipid peroxidation products, and therefore, the enzyme inhibition in diabetes is detrimental rather than benefical. However, the role for AR in lipid peroxdation product metabolism has never been demonstrated in vivo, and the effects of aldose reductase inhibitors and antioxidants on diabetic peripheral neuropathy are unidirectional, i.e., both classes of agents prevent and correct functional, metabolic, neurotrophic, and morphological changes in diabetic nerve. Growing evidence indicates that AR has a key role in oxidative stress in the peripheral nerve and contributes to superoxide production by the vascular endothelium. The potential mechanisms of this phenonmenon are discussed.

Inhibitory effects of bucillamine on increased blood-retinal barrier permeability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

PURPOSE

To investigate the effect of bucillamine for prevention of increasing blood-retinal barrier (BRB) permeability in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODS

The groups included control and STZ-induced diabetic rats treated with or without bucillamine. Six months after intervention, the concentrations of reduced and oxidative glutathione (GSH and GSSG) in the retina were measured biochemically. In addition, vitreous fluorescein, which leaks from the vessels after intravenous injection of fluorescein sodium, was measured to evaluate BRB permeability. To evaluate the scavenging ability against the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in vitro, the second-order rate constant for the reaction of bucillamine with ROS was estimated from the kinetics based on the rate constant for the reaction of ROS.

RESULTS

The BRB permeability was significantly higher (p = 0.01) in diabetic rats not treated with bucillamine, and bucillamine inhibited the BRB permeability. The GSH concentration and the GSH/GSSG ratio in the retinas decreased in diabetic rats not treated with bucillamine; bucillamine inhibited the decrease of the GSH concentrations. The ROS scavenging activity of bucillamine was similar with that of GSH.

CONCLUSIONS

In diabetic retinas, oxidative stress might increase, which may be one of the causes of BRB breakdown. The antioxidant effects of bucillamine might take part in inhibition of increased permeability of the BRB in diabetes.

Early changes in lipid peroxidation and antioxidative defense in diabetic rat retina: effect of DL-alpha-lipoic acid

This study was designed to (1) evaluate retinal lipid peroxidation in early diabetes by the method specific for free malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxyalkenals, (2) identify impaired antioxidative defense mechanisms and (3) assess if enhanced retinal oxidative stress in diabetes is prevented by the potent antioxidant, DL-alpha-lipoic acid. The groups included control and streptozotocin-diabetic rats treated with or without DL-alpha-lipoic acid (100 mg kg(-1) day(-1), i.p., for 6 weeks). All parameters were measured in individual retinae. 4-Hydroxyalkenal concentration was increased in diabetic rats (2.63+/-0.60 vs. 1.44+/-0.30 nmol/mg soluble protein in controls, P<0.01), and this increase was prevented by DL-alpha-lipoic acid (1.20+/-0.88, P<0.01 vs. untreated diabetic group). Malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations were similar among the groups. Superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), glutathione reductase (GSSGRed) and glutathione transferase (GSHTrans) activities were decreased in diabetic rats vs. controls. Quinone reductase was upregulated in diabetic rats, whereas catalase and cytoplasmic NADH oxidase activities were unchanged. DL-alpha-Lipoic acid prevented changes in superoxide dismutase and quinone reductase activities induced by diabetes without affecting the enzymes of glutathione metabolism. In conclusion, accumulation of 4-hydroxyalkenals is an early marker of oxidative stress in the diabetic retina. Increased lipid peroxidation occurs in the absence of GSH depletion, and is prevented by DL-alpha-lipoic acid.

Long-standing hyperglycemia in C57BL/6J mice does not affect retinal glutathione levels or endothelial/pericyte ratio in retinal capillaries

Free radicals have been suggested to play a role in the development of diabetic retinopathy. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the metabolic perturbations caused by high-fat feeding of two strains of mice, the C57BL6/J mice and the NMRI mice, interfere with one of the free radical enzyme defense systems in the retina, i. e., glutathione (GSH), and whether morphological changes occur in the retinal vessels. C57BL/6J mice and NMRI mice were fed a high-fat diet (55%) for 18 months. High-fat fed mice of both strains developed overweight, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperlipidemia. In addition, the high-fat fed C57BL/6J mice also developed sustained hyperglycemia for at least 15 months. The C57BL/6J mice had lower retinal GSH levels than the NMRI mice, both when given a normal diet (29.6+/-1.2 vs. 37.1+/-1.4 nmol/mg protein; p<0.01) and when given a high-fat diet (27.0+/-1.6 vs. 34.7+/-2.6 nmol/mg protein; p<0.05). Despite the long-standing hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and hyperlipidemia in the C57BL/6J mice, high-fat feeding did not cause any changes in the retinal tissue levels of GSH (27.0+/-1.6 vs. 29. 6+/-1.2 nmol/mg protein) or cysteine (7.61+/-0.63 vs. 6.80+/-0.59 nmol/mg protein). Similarly, high-fat feeding did not affect retinal GSH or cysteine levels in NMRI mice. No light microscopical retinal vessel changes were seen, either in C57BL/6J or in NMRI mice. The study therefore shows that long-standing metabolic perturbations induced by dietary obesity do not induce signs of retinopathy in two different strains of mice. Further studies are needed to explore whether this is explained by increased expression of protecting systems making these strains of mice resistant to effects of oxidative stress.