High glucose represses the proliferation of tendon fibroblasts by inhibiting autophagy activation in tendon injury

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a kind of common and disabling complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Emerging studies have demonstrated that tendon fibroblasts play a crucial role in remodeling phase of wound healing. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying high glucose (HG)-induced decrease in tendon fibroblasts viability. In the present study, the rat models of DFU were established, and collagen deposition, autophagy activation and cell apoptosis in tendon tissues were assessed using Hematoxylin–Eosin (HE) staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) assay, respectively. Tendon fibroblasts were isolated from Achilles tendon of the both limbs, and the effect of HG on autophagy activation in tendon fibroblasts was assessed using Western blot analysis, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and flow cytometry. We found that cell apoptosis was increased significantly and autophagy activation was decreased in foot tendon tissues of DFU rats compared with normal tissues. The role of HG in regulating tendon fibroblasts viability was then investigated in vitro, and data showed that HG repressed cell viability and increased cell apoptosis. Furthermore, HG treatment reduced LC3-II expression and increased p62 expression, indicating that HG repressed autophagy activation of tendon fibroblasts. The autophagy activator rapamycin reversed the effect. More importantly, rapamycin alleviated the suppressive role of HG in tendon fibroblasts viability. Taken together, our data demonstrate that HG represses tendon fibroblasts proliferation by inhibiting autophagy activation in tendon injury.     

ACE inhibition actively promotes cell survival by altering gene expression

We tested the effect of ACE inhibition on the survival of bovine retinal (REC) and choroidal (CEC) endothelial cells (EC) in culture. The ACE inhibitor captopril delayed the apoptotic tube collapse of REC on Matrigel for >15 days. Captopril treatment of confluent monolayers (2-8 weeks) followed by slow starvation (2-4 weeks) increased EC viability by approximately 200%. Two-week captopril exposures were sufficient to confer maximal protection. Only vehicle-treated EC demonstrated apoptotic features such as membrane blebbing and DNA laddering. By RT-PCR, the starvation marker p202 was upregulated only in starved cells. In REC, captopril upregulated the pro-survival proteins mortalin-2, uPA, and uPAR while downregulating the anti-growth sprouty-4 and tPA. In CEC, captopril also upregulated tPA and its inhibitor PAI-1. Amiloride (uPA inhibitor) blocked the captopril-induced increase in EC survival, secondary sprouting, and invasion in Matrigel. The pro-survival effects of captopril involve the reprogramming of genes involved in cell survival and immortalization.     

Diabetes is not a potent inducer of neuronal cell death in mouse sensory ganglia,but it enhances neurite regeneration in vitro

We examined the effects of diabetes on the morphological features and regenerative capabilities of adult mouse nodose ganglia (NG) and dorsal root ganglia (DRG). By light and electron microscopy, no apoptotic cell death was detected in the ganglia obtained from either streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic or normal C57BL/6J mice in vivo. Neurite regeneration from transected nerve terminals of NG and DRG explants in culture at normal (10 mM) and high (30 mM) glucose concentrations was significantly enhanced in the diabetic mice. Chromatolytic changes (i.e. swelling and migration of the nucleus to an eccentric position in the neurons, and a loss of Nissl substance in the neuronal perikarya) and apoptotic cell death (less than one-fifth of the neurons) in the cultured ganglia were present, but neither hyperglycemia in vivo nor high glucose conditions in vitro altered the morphological features of the ganglia or the ratios of apoptotic cells at 3 days in culture. By semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis, the mRNA expressions of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in DRG from both mice were down-regulated at 1 day in culture. The expression in diabetic DRG, but not in control DRG, was significantly up-regulated at later stages (3 and 7 days) in culture. In summary, hyperglycemia is unlikely to induce cell death in the sensory ganglia, but enhances the regenerative capability of vagal and spinal sensory nerves in vitro. The up-regulation of CNTF mRNA expression during the culture of diabetic DRG may play a role in the enhanced neurite regeneration.     

Induction of blindness by formoguanamine hydrochloride in adult male roseringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri)

Formoguanamine (2,4-diamino-s-triazine) was known to be an effective chemical agent in inducing blindness in poultry chicks, but not in adult birds. The present study was undertaken to demonstrate the influences, if any, of this chemical on the visual performance and retinal histology in an adult sub-tropical wild bird, the roseringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri). Formoguanamine (FG) hydrochloride was subcutaneously injected into adult parakeets at a dosage of 25 mg (dissolved in 0.75 ml physiological saline)/100 g body weight/day, for two consecutive days while the control birds were injected only with a placebo. The effects were studied after 10, 20 and 30 days of the last treatment of FG. Within 24 h of the treatment of FG, about 90% of the total birds exhibited lack of visual responses to any light stimulus and even absence of pupillary light reactions. The remaining birds became totally blind on the day following the last injection of FG and remained so till the end of investigation. At the microscopic level, conspicuous degenerative changes were noted in the outer pigmented epithelium and the photoreceptive layer of rods and cones in the retinas of FG treated birds. A significant reduction in the thickness of the outer nuclear layer was also found in the retinas of FG treated parakeets, compared to that in the control birds. However, the inner cell layers of the retina in the control and FG administered parakeets were almost identical. It deserves special mention that the effects of FG, noted after 30 days of last treatment, were not very different from those noted just after 10 days of treatment. Collectively, the results of the present investigation demonstrate that FG can be used as a potent pharmacological agent for inducing irreversible blindness through selective damage in retinal tissue even in the adult wild bird, thereby making FG treatment an alternative euthanasic device to a cumbersome, stressful, surgical method of enucleation of the ocular system for laboratory studies.     

Advanced glycation end products-induced apoptosis and overexpression of vascular endothelial growth factor in bovine retinal pericytes.

The influence of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on apoptotic cell death and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene expression in cultured bovine retinal pericytes was investigated. When pericytes were incubated with three immunochemically distinct AGEs, which were prepared in vitro by incubating bovine serum albumin with glucose, glyceraldehyde, or glycolaldehyde, apoptotic cell death and DNA ladder formation were significantly induced. The cytopathic effects of glyceraldehyde- or glycolaldehyde-derived AGEs were significantly enhanced in AGE receptor-transfected pericytes. Furthermore, all of these AGEs were found to upregulate the secretory forms of VEGF mRNA levels in retinal pericytes. These results suggest that AGEs disturbed retinal microvascular homeostasis by inducing pericyte apoptosis and VEGF overproduction and thus were involved in the pathogenesis of early phase diabetic retinopathy.     

The role of oxidative stress in diabetic vascular and neural disease

This review will focus on the impact of hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress in the development of diabetes-induced vascular and neural dysfunction. Oxidative stress occurs when the balance between the production of oxidation products and the ability of antioxidant mechanisms to neutralize these products is tilted in the favor of the former. The production of reactive oxygen species has been shown to be increased in patients with diabetes. The possible sources for the overproduction of reactive oxygen species is widespread and include enzymatic pathways, autoxidation of glucose and the mitochondria. Increase in oxidative stress has clearly been shown to contribute to the pathology of vascular disease not only in diabetes but also in hypertension, stroke and ischemia. Since the etiology of diabetic neuropathy is considered to have a large vascular component, prevention of oxidative stress in diabetes is considered by many investigators to be a primary defense against the development of diabetic vascular disease. Potential therapies for preventing increased oxidative stress in diabetes and the neural vasculature will be discussed.     

小檗胺对大鼠糖尿病性白内障模型中DNA损伤修复及致障过程的影响

利用链脲佐菌素（ＳＴＺ）引起的大鼠糖尿病性实验性白内障模型,观察小檗胺对晶状体上皮细胞ＤＮＡ损伤、修复及致障过程的影响．发现ＳＴＺ对照组在腹腔注射ＳＴＺ后３～４ｄ开始出现有显著意义的ＤＮＡ单链断裂（ｓｉｎｇｌｅｓｔｒａｎｄｂｒｅａｋｓ,ＳＳＢ）,并持续存在于发病全程直至晶状体完全混浊．而在注射ＳＴＺ后１２ｈ再腹腔注射３．４８ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重,１．７４ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重小檗胺后,一周后才出现有显著意义的ＳＳＢ．３．４８ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重组在５周后白内障形成率明显低于ＳＴＺ组的同时,ＳＳＢ也恢复到对照水平,而１．７４ｍｇ／ｋｇ体重组第７周才恢复到对照水平．提示抗氧化药物小檗胺能在一定程度上阻止白内障发生过程中的ＤＮＡ损伤．     

糖尿病肾病患者血浆NGAL和血清CysC水平改变及其早期诊断价值

目的:研究糖尿病肾病(DN)患者血浆中性粒细胞明胶酶相关脂质运载蛋白(NGAL)和血清胱抑素C(CysC)水平变化,分析其对DN的早期诊断价值。方法:选取160例糖尿病(DM)患者按尿微量白蛋白排泄率(UAER)分为DN前期组58例(A组),DN早期组52例(B组)及DN临床组50例(C组),同期选择健康体检者61例为对照组(D组)。比较四组受试者血中NGAL、CysC、尿素氮(BUN)和血肌酐(CREA),及尿中微量清蛋白(UMA)水平的差异,分析血NGAL、CysC与UMA之间的相关关系。结果:(1)A、B、C组受试者NGAL、CysC及UMA水平显著高于D组,且CBA,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05);C组BUN和CREA水平均明显高于A、B、D三组,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05),而A、B组较D组均无统计学差异(P0.05)。(2)血NGAL、CysC与尿UMA均存在正相关关系(r=0.59,0.64;P均0.05)。结论:DN早期患者血浆NGAL与血清CysC水平显著升高,且二者均与尿UMA水平存在正相关关系,可作为评价肾脏损害程度及DN早期诊断的较敏感的生物学标志物,临床推荐应用。     

封闭负压引流对兔糖尿病溃疡创面组织愈合影响的观察

目的:探讨封闭负压引流(VAC)对兔糖尿病溃疡创面组织愈合的影响及其可能机制。方法:采用四氧嘧啶法建立兔糖尿病溃疡模型,设空白对照组和实验组(对照组创面采用常规包扎治疗处理,实验组创面则采用VAC处理),观察和比较两组动物的创面肉眼观、愈合时间,在致伤前、致伤后3 d、7 d、14 d取创面软组织,检测和比较两组动物的创面组织含水量、血流量以及血浆ET-1和NO含量。结果:与对照组比较,实验组动物的创面肿胀及分泌物得到明显控制,创面坏死组织的清除与肉芽组织的生长明显加快,平均愈合时间明显缩短(P0.05);致伤后3 d、7 d和14 d,创面组织含水量与血浆ET-1含量明显下降(P0.05),创面组织血流量与血浆NO含量明显增加(P0.05)。结论:VAC对兔糖尿病溃疡创面组织的愈合可起到积极的促进作用,这可能与其增加血浆NO含量及降低ET-1的含量有关,其具体机制尚有待于进一步的研究。