ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of FTY720 on retinal photoreceptor cells and microglial following light-induced degeneration in rat retina. Methods120 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups including FTY720 group, solvent control group, model group and normal group. The rats of normal group were not intervened. The FTY720 group, solvent control group and model group establish retinal light injury mode. FTY720 was injected into abdominal cavity of the rats in FTY720 group 0.5 hours before light exposure. 50% dimethylsulfoxide was injected into abdominal cavity of the rats in solvent control group. The expressions of microglial cells in rat retinal were quantified using flow cytometry, the expressions of interleukin (IL)-1βwere examined by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay at 6 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days after light exposure. The apoptosis of retinal photoreceptor cells were measured by terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling at 1 day after light exposure. The morphological change of retinal were viewed by haematoxylin and eosin staining at 7 days after light exposure. ResultsThe expressions of microgilal and IL-1βbegan to rise at 1 day after light exposure, reached at peak at 3 days and decreased at 7 days. The expressions of IL-1βand microglial in FTY720 group were significantly lower than solvent control group and model group, but higher than normal group (P < 0.05).One day after exposure to light, the apoptosis cell ratio in normal group, model group, solvent control group and FTY720 group were 0, (87.66±2.50)%, (86.00±2.44)%, (49.66±2.80)%. The apoptosis cell in FTY720 group were higher than normal group, lower than solvent control group and model group (P < 0.05). Seven days after exposure to light, the retinal in normal group was structured and the cell was arranged well, the cell in solvent control group and model group was irregular arrangement and the outer nuclear layer (ONL) was thin after light exposure. The thickness of the ONL in FTY720 group was significantly higher than solvent control group and model group, below normal group. ConclusionFTY720 can prevents retinal photoreceptor cells from apoptosis and inhibits activation of microglial.
Ischemic retinopathy, resulting in multiple lesions like microvasculature damage, inflammation and neovascularization, is a major contributor of vision damage. In these pathological changes, retinal glia cannot be ignored in the development of retinopathy. They constitute a highly versatile population that interacts with various cells to maintain homeostasis and limit disease. Therefore, glial activation and gliosis are strikingly ubiquitous responses to almost every form of retinal disease. Both of microglial cells and Müller cells are major intrinsic retinal glial cells and they are in close relationship, which means they can influence each other, make joint action or even become interdependent. They exhibit morphological and functional changes to have an impact on degree of retinal injury through different responses, which mediated by glial cells are important not only for course of disease progression, but also for the maintenance of neuronal and photoreceptor survival. Thus, defining the mechanisms that underlie communications between microglial cells and Müller cells could enable the development of more selective therapeutic targets, with great potential clinical applications.
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of conditional knocking out (KO) vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene on the mouse model of oxygen induced retinopathy (OIR).MethodsThe conditional VEGF KO mice were generated using Cre-Loxp technology, resulting in the deletion of VEGF in a portion of Müller cells permanently in mouse retina. Cre positive was CKO mice, Cre negative was NKO mice. OIR was induced by keeping mice in 75% oxygen at postnatal 7 days (P7) to P12 and in room air from P12 to P17 (each 20 mice for CKO and NKO, respectively). The mice mortality was analyzed. At day P17, the percentage of retinal avascular area was calculated using retinal flat-mounting with fluorescence angiography, the number of vascular endothelial cell nucleus breaking through retinal inner limiting membrane was counted with hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining of retinal sections, and the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was detected by immunofluorescence analysis. ResultsDuring the development of OIR, the mortality rate of CKO mice (65.00%) was higher than that of NKO mice (30.00%) with the significant difference (x2=4.912, P=0.027). At day P17, all the mice retinas were harvested. The retinal fluorescence angiography displayed that the normal retinal vascularization of CKO mice was delayed, and large avascular areas were observed. Meanwhile, rare new vascular plexus was found in CKO mice and the thickness of whole retina decreased dramatically. In contrast, NKO mice developed larger area of normal retinal vascular network structure with higher blood vessel density and more new vascular plexus with obvious fluorescein leakage. The percentage of avascular area in CKO mice [(28.31±11.15)%] was higher than NKO mice [(16.82±7.23)%] with the significant difference (t=2.734, P=0.014). The HE staining of retinal sections indicated smaller counts of vascular endothelial cell nucleus breaking through retinal inner limiting membrane in CKO mice (26.10±6.37) when compared to NKO mice (28.80±7.59) , the difference was significant (t=2.437, P=0.016). The immunofluorescence analysis showed stronger expression of HIF-1α in CKO mice than NKO mice, which was mainly located in the retinal ganglion cell layer.ConclusionsThe local VEGF gene knockout partially inhibits retinal neovascularization in OIR mice. However, it also suppresses the normal retinal blood vascular development with a decrease of OIR mice survival ability.
Neural stem cell is a kind of stem cells that can differentiate into neural and glial cells. While Müller cells, the main endogenous neural stem cell in retina,have the features to reentry into the cell cycle and differentiate into neural cells after retinal damage. Although it is highly effective for retinal Müller cell differentiation spontaneously after retinal injury in vertebrates, this feature is rigorous restricted in mammals. Recently, some transcription factors,such as Ascl1, Sox2, Lin28, Atoh7, are sufficient to drive quiescent Müller cells back in proliferation to generate new retinal neurons. Moreover, combining Ascl1 expression with a histone deacetylase inhibitor can bypass the limitation and increase the generation of new neurons in the adult retina. These regenerated neurons integrate the existing neuronal network and are able to respond to light, indicating that they can likely be used to restore vision. While these results are extremely promising, the regenerative response is still limited, likely because the proliferative capacity of mammalian Müller cells is low compared to their zebrafish counterparts. It is indeed necessary to identify new factors increasing the efficiency of the regenerative response.
Objective To observe the effect of netrin-1 on retinal Müller cells in diabetes mellitus (DM) rats. Methods Fifty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (group A), normal + balanced salt solution (BSS) group (group B), normal+netrin-1 group (group C), DM+BSS group (group D) and DM+netrin-1 group (group E), with 10 rats in each group. DM rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). The expression level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) on retinal Müller cells was determined by immunohistochemistry, the level of GFAP mRNA was analyzed by real-time fluorescence quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results Immunohistochemistry showed that GFAP was distributed in retinal ganglion cells and retinal nerve fiber layer in group A, B and C. Compared to group B, GFAP staining was brighter in the group D. There were significant differences in the expression of GFAP protein and mRNA among groups A-E (F=203.43, 72.91; P=0.00, 0.00), they were higher in group D than group A (t=−26.01, 22.26; P=0.00, 0.00), and group E (t=−10.78, 3.93; P=0.00, 0.00). They were higher in group E than group A (t=7.00, −9.82; P=0.00, 0.00). There were no significant differences in between group A and group C (t=−0.29, 0.50; P=0.77, 0.62). Conclusion The expression of GFAP in Müller cells of DM rats could be decreased by injecting netrin-1 into vitreous.
The human hereditary retinal degeneration is one of the main cause of irreversible blindness in the world. the mechanisms leading to retinal photoreceptor degeneration are not entirely clear. However, microglia acting as innate immune monitors are found to be activated early in retinal degeneration in many retinitis pigmentosa animal models. These activated microglia are involved in phagocyte rod cell fragments of degenerated retina, and also produce high levels of cytotoxic substances such as pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which aggravate the death of adjacent healthy photoreceptor cells. It suggests that microglia activation plays an important role in photoreceptor degeneration. At the same time, a series of studies have confirmed that some drugs can prevent or reduce neuronal death and slow the occurrence and progression of retinal degeneration by interfering with abnormal activation of microglia. It is expected to be a new choice for the treatment of hereditary retinal degeneration.
Retinal microglial cells are immune cells of the retina and participate in the retinal immune response. In recent years, it has been found that microglia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR), and is involved in the pathological process of neurodegeneration and microvascular disease in DR. Understanding the function of retinal microglial cells and their role in the pathogenesis DR may open up new avenues for the treatment of DR through the precise regulation of microglia