The effect of netrin-1 on activation of Mueller cell in diabetes rats

Abstract

Objective To observe the effect of netrin-1 on retinal Muller 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 Muller 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 Muller cells of DM rats could be decreased by injecting netrin-1 into vitreous. Key words: Diabetic retinopathy/physiopathology; Microglia/physiology; Nerve growth factors; Animal experimentation