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Pfaller AM, Kaplan L, Carido M, Grassmann F, Díaz-Lezama N, Ghaseminejad F, Wunderlich KA, Glänzer S, Bludau O, Pannicke T, Weber BHF, Koch SF, Bonev B, Hauck SM, Grosche A. The glucocorticoid receptor as a master regulator of the Müller cell response to diabetic conditions in mice. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:33. [PMID: 38273366 PMCID: PMC10809506 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03021-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is considered a primarily microvascular complication of diabetes. Müller glia cells are at the centre of the retinal neurovascular unit and play a critical role in DR. We therefore investigated Müller cell-specific signalling pathways that are altered in DR to identify novel targets for gene therapy. Using a multi-omics approach on purified Müller cells from diabetic db/db mice, we found the mRNA and protein expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to be significantly decreased, while its target gene cluster was down-regulated. Further, oPOSSUM TF analysis and ATAC- sequencing identified the GR as a master regulator of Müller cell response to diabetic conditions. Cortisol not only increased GR phosphorylation. It also induced changes in the expression of known GR target genes in retinal explants. Finally, retinal functionality was improved by AAV-mediated overexpression of GR in Müller cells. Our study demonstrates an important role of the glial GR in DR and implies that therapeutic approaches targeting this signalling pathway should be aimed at increasing GR expression rather than the addition of more ligand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M Pfaller
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Lew Kaplan
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Madalena Carido
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Felix Grassmann
- Institute of Clinical Human Genetics, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Institute for Clinical Research and Systems Medicine, Health and Medical University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Nundehui Díaz-Lezama
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Department of Pharmacy, Center for Drug Research, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Farhad Ghaseminejad
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Kirsten A Wunderlich
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Medicine, Health and Medical University, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sarah Glänzer
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Oliver Bludau
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Thomas Pannicke
- Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Bernhard H F Weber
- Institute of Clinical Human Genetics, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Susanne F Koch
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Department of Pharmacy, Center for Drug Research, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Boyan Bonev
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Stefanie M Hauck
- Metabolomics and Proteomics Core, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Antje Grosche
- Department of Physiological Genomics, Biomedical Center-BMC, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
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