Abstract
Purpose: :
To investigate the expression of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) in the experimental diabetic retina in rat.
Methods: :
6 to 8 week-old healthy male wistar rats for this study. 14 rats as the non-diabetic controls, and 45 made for diabetes mellitus groups induced by streptozotocin (STZ). The diabetic rats were raised for 2 months (DM2M) or 3 months (DM3M), respectively. The retinas of DM2M, DM3M and CON were fixed by 4% paraformaldehyde and embedded in paraffin, then checked by immunochemistry and digital photomicrograph analysis to detect the locations and levels of the expression of SDF-1. The ratios of integrated optical density (IOD) and area of interest (AOI) were calculated to evaluate the intensities of positive staining. Values of z, t and P were determined by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and Student’s t test). The SDF-1 mRNA of the retinas from DM2M and CON was detected by real-time RT-PCR. Copies of SDF-1 mRNA were then adjusted by the copies of β-actin mRNA in each sample.
Results: :
The positive of SDF-1 in immunohistochemical staining was checked in all groups, which were located at the INL and GCL. There was no significant difference between DM2M and DM3M. Copies of SDF-1 mRNA were found in DM2M more than in the control, and the β-actin were highly express in DM2M than in normal control group.
Conclusions: :
SDF-1 was expressed highly in the diabetic retinas of rats, compared with normal control, suggesting it act as one of the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy.
Keywords: diabetic retinopathy