Journal
MICROVASCULAR RESEARCH
Volume 133, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.mvr.2020.104103
Keywords
Diabetic retinopathy; Pericyte loss; Pericyte apoptosis; Endothelial cell permeability; Hepatocyte growth factor
Categories
Funding
- Kangwon National University [520200064]
- National Research Foundation of Korea - Korean government [NRF-2020R1I1A3071928]
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The study showed that HGF could prevent diabetic retinopathy-induced vascular leakage by reducing pericyte apoptosis and enhancing endothelial cell tight junctions.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a disease that causes blindness due to vascular leakage or abnormal angiogenesis. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is increased in the serum or vitreous fluid in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) patients, although the effect of HGF on the blood vessels remains unclear. This study focused on the effect of HGF on pericyte (PC) survival and endothelial cell (EC) permeability. It was demonstrated that HGF was increased in the diabetic mouse retina. However, HGF prevented PC apoptosis caused by TNF-alpha, which increased in the diabetic retinas both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, HGF was involved in PC survival by increasing the Akt signaling pathway. Moreover, HGF strengthened the EC tight junction in co-cultures of PCs and ECs by promoting PC survival, thereby reducing EC permeability. These results suggest that HGF may play a role in the prevention of increased vascular leakage by inhibiting the PC loss that occurs in DR to some extent. However, careful HGF reduction in DR might avoid an increase in PC loss.
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