Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate potential changes in platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule‐1 (PECAM‐1) and capillary density occurring early in the diabetic retina. In these experiments, streptozotocin (STZ; or vehicle alone, for controls) was injected into rats (30 mg/kg for 3 days) to induce a model of type I diabetes. Eight weeks later, a fluorescent plasma tracer (high molecular weight FITC‐dextran) was injected i.v. into the anesthetized rats, and the eyes were excised just prior to euthanasia. One eye was used in a flatmount of the retinal tissue, with capillary density quantified using images captured through a microscope camera. The other eye was used for western blot analysis. Levels of PECAM‐1 were found to decrease by 44% (p<0.05), but in contrast, no changes were observed in the number of perfused capillaries (that is, perfused with FITC‐dextran). Further studies will be needed to examine the possibility, and implications, of diabetic retinal capillaries expressing lower levels of PECAM‐1. Funded by NIH EY017599 (NRH).
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