Abstract
Previous studies have shown that in diabetic patients, there is an increase of retinal capillaries associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy in the eye. The objective of current study is to investigate the effect of glucose on retinal endothelial cell viability and VEGF secretion. 20,000 cells per well were treated without glucose or with 5.5mM (euglycemic), 18.5mM and 30mM (hyperglycemic) glucose for 24 hours. Viable cells were counted using Trypan blue dye exclusion method. ELISA was used to measure VEGF secretion from cells into the cell medium. The number of viable cells incubated with 5.5mM glucose (physiological control) increased by 53.7% after 24 hours. In comparison, cells treated with 18.5mM glucose decreased by 2.8% while cells treated with 30mM glucose decreased by 20% after 24 hours of incubation. Cells without glucose treatment (0mM control) decreased by 33.3%. In contrast to the decrease of viable cell numbers after treatment with high glucose, there is an increase in VEGF secretion (pg/mL) to the cell medium with increase in glucose concentration from 5.5mM to 0, 18.5, and 30mM. The amount of VEGF secreted per cell also increased with increasing glucose concentrations. Our results show that viability of retinal endothelial cells and VEGF release are highly responsive to changes in glucose concentration. Such glucose-induced changes in retinal endothelial cells may negatively impact the integrity of the microvasculature in the diabetic retina leading to angiogenesis and microaneursyms.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood
It was observed that changes in RhREC confluence and viability over a 24 hour period was dependent on glucose concentration
It is of great interest to point out the 18.5mM glucose treatment did not result in a large change in cell number compared to T0
Summary
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by high levels of glucose in the blood (hyperglycemia). Received: December 17, 2015; Accepted: March 10, 2016; Published: March 25, 2016 prevalent in developing countries and is estimated to affect approximately 439 million people by 2030 [1], suggesting that diabetes is a global health problem. This chronic disease has long-term effects on kidneys, nerves, the heart, and other major organs [2,3]. One such complication affects the eye and is known as Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). Our novel findings in Rhesus Monkey retinal endothelial cells may help us establish a model for further research in the diabetic, non-human primate eye
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
