Response of Rat Retinal Capillary Pericytes and Endothelial Cells to Glucose

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of hyperglycemia, its fluctuations, and glucose starvation on the expression of glucose-regulated protein 78/binding immunoglobulin protein (GRP78/BiP), one of the most commonly used markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress, in rat capillary pericytes and endothelial cells cultured separately and together. Methods: Conditionally immortalized rat retinal pericyte and endothelial cell lines were cultured in dishes coated with collagen type I in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 5.5mM glucose. For cocultures, pericytes and endothelial cells were seeded together on rat tail collagen type I-coated cell culture plates. After 24 h of initial culture, the medium was replaced with serum-free medium containing 0-100mM glucose for periods of up to 72 h. GRP78/BiP, caspase-3, and nuclear factor-kappa B expression were investigated using western blots. Results: No significant increase in GRP78/BiP expression was observed when pericytes, endothelial cells, or cocultures were exposed to either 25, 50, or 100mM glucose for 48 h compared with the control level of 5.5mM glucose. Similarly, no change in expression of GRP78/BiP was observed when media glucose levels were reduced from either 5.5 or 25 to 1mM. GRP78/BiP expression significantly increased when cells were cultured for 24 h in glucose-deprived medium. This was accompanied by a time-dependent increase in the expression of caspase-3 and nuclear factor-kappa B. Conclusion: In diabetic retinopathy, hyperglycemia has been reported to induce apoptosis in retinal capillary vascular cells, but these studies suggest that the apoptosis is not linked to the expression of GRP78/BiP, one of the most commonly used markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress. However, GRP78/BiP-linked apoptosis may play a role in vascular changes associated with retinal ischemia/reperfusion.