Abstract
Purpose: :
Angiopoietin-like proteins 2 (Angptl2) is closely related to inflammation via NFΚB signaling in diabetes, and also promotes angiogenesis and vascular leakiness in vivo. We previously reported Angptl2 concentration in vitreous and serum was increased and expressed in fibrovascular membrane in diabetic patients. However, the function of Angptl2 in diabetic retinopathy is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of Angptl2 using Angptl2 knockout mice feeding western-style high-fat diet.
Methods: :
Angptl2 knockout and wild type mice were fed a high-fat diet for 2 months. We extracted protein from retinas of those mice and measured the concentration of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (VCAM-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and IL-6 using sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Moreover, the retinal vasculature and adherent leukocytes were stained by perfusion labeling with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-coupled concanavalin A lectin (ConA) for quantification of retinal adherent leukocytes in these mice.
Results: :
ICAM-1, VCAM-1, MCP-1, and IL-6 expression in retina was significantly suppressed in Angptl2-deficient mice compared with wild-type fed a high-fat diet (P<0.05), and a significant decrease of adherent leukocytes in retinal vessels was observed in the Angptl2-deficient mice compared with wild-type (P<0.05).
Conclusions: :
Aangptl2 may play an important role in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, Angptl2 may have a therapeutic potential for diabetic retinopathy.
Keywords: diabetes • inflammation