| Popis: |
PurposeOne of the earliest hallmarks of diabetic retinopathy is the loss of retinal pericytes. However, the mechanisms that promote pericyte dropout are unknown. In the present study, we propose a novel pathway in which pericyte apoptosis is mediated by macrophages, TGFβ and pro-apoptotic BIGH3 (TGFβ-induced Gene Human Clone 3) protein.Patients and methodsTo elucidate this pathway, we assayed human retinal pericyte (HRP) apoptosis by TUNEL assay, BIGH3 mRNA expression by qPCR, and BIGH3 protein expression by western blot analysis. HRP were treated with BIGH3 protein, TGFβ1 and TGFβ2 and inhibition assays were carried out by blocking with antibodies against BIGH3. The distribution of BIGH3 and CD68 |
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