Toshihide Kurihara

Neuroprotective effect of an antioxidant, lutein, during retinal inflammation.

PURPOSEnLutein has been the focus of recent study as a possible therapeutic approach for retinal diseases, but the molecular mechanism of its neuroprotective effect remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate, with the use of a mouse endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) model, the neuroprotective effects of lutein against retinal neural damage caused by inflammation.nnnMETHODSnEIU was induced by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Each animal was given a subcutaneous injection of lutein or vehicle three times: concurrently with and 3 hours before and after the LPS injection. Analysis was carried out 24 hours after EIU induction. Levels of rhodopsin protein and STAT3 activation were analyzed by immunoblotting. Lengths of the outer segments of the photoreceptor cells were measured. Dark-adapted full-field electroretinograms were recorded. Oxidative stress in the retina was analyzed by dihydroethidium and fluorescent probe. Expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was shown immunohistochemically.nnnRESULTSnThe EIU-induced decrease in rhodopsin expression followed by shortening of the outer segments and reduction in a-wave amplitude were prevented by lutein treatment. Levels of STAT3 activation, downstream of inflammatory cytokine signals, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are both upregulated during EIU, were reduced by lutein. Pathologic change of Müller glial cells, represented by GFAP expression, was also prevented by lutein.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThe present data revealed that the antioxidant lutein was neuroprotective during EIU, suggesting a potential approach for suppressing retinal neural damage during inflammation.

Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Signaling Contributes to Synaptophysin Degradation and Neuronal Dysfunction in the Diabetic Retina

OBJECTIVE—Pathogenic mechanisms underlying diabetes-induced retinal dysfunction are not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to show the relationship of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) with the synaptic vesicle protein synaptophysin and neuronal activity in the diabetic retina. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—C57BL/6 mice with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were treated with the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) blocker telimsartan or valsartan, and retinal function was analyzed by electroretinography. Retinal production of the RAS components and phosphorylation of ERK (extracellular-signal regulated kinase) were examined by immunoblotting. Retinal mRNA and protein levels of synaptophysin were measured by quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblot analyses, respectively. In vitro, synaptophysin levels were also evaluated using angiotensin II–stimulated PC12D neuronal cells cultured with or without the inhibition of ERK signaling or the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). RESULTS—Induction of diabetes led to a significant increase in retinal production of angiotensin II and AT1R together with ERK activation in the downstream of AT1R. AT1R blockade significantly reversed diabetes-induced electroretinography changes and reduction of synaptophysin protein, but not mRNA, levels in the diabetic retina. In agreement with the AT1R-mediated posttranscriptional downregulation of synaptophysin in vivo, in vitro application of angiotensin II to PC12D neuronal cells caused the UPS–mediated degradation of synaptophysin protein via AT1R, which proved to be induced by ERK activation. CONCLUSIONS—These data indicate the first molecular evidence of the RAS-induced synaptophysin degradation and neuronal dysfunction in the diabetic retina, suggesting the possibility of the AT1R blockade as a novel neuroprotective treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

Retinal dysfunction and progressive retinal cell death in SOD1-deficient mice.

The superoxide dismutase (SOD) family is a major antioxidant system, and deficiency of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) in mice leads to many different phenotypes that resemble accelerated aging. The purpose of this study was to examine the morphology and physiology of the sensory retina in Sod1(-/-) mice. The amplitudes of the a- and b-waves of electroretinograms elicited by stimuli of different intensity were reduced in senescent Sod1(-/-) mice, and this reduction in amplitude was more pronounced with increasing age. Retinal morphometric analyses showed a reduced number of nuclei in both the inner nuclear cell layer and outer nuclear cell layer. Electron microscopy revealed swollen cells and degenerated mitochondria in the inner nuclear cell and outer nuclear cell layer of senescent Sod1(-/-) mice indicating necrotic cell death. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling revealed no significant differences in the number of apoptotic cells between Sod1(-/-) and wild-type mice, and activated caspase-3 could not be detected in the retina of Sod1(-/-) mice. In addition to the age-related macular degeneration-like phenotypes previously reported, Sod1(-/-) mice also present progressive retinal degeneration. Our results indicate that Sod1(-/-) mice may be a good model system in which to study the mechanism of reactive oxygen species-mediated retinal degeneration.

Roles of STAT3/SOCS3 Pathway in Regulating the Visual Function and Ubiquitin-Proteasome-dependent Degradation of Rhodopsin during Retinal Inflammation

Inflammatory cytokines cause tissue dysfunction. We previously reported that retinal inflammation down-regulates rhodopsin expression and impairs visual function by an unknown mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that rhodopsin levels were preserved by suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), a negative feedback regulator of STAT3 activation. SOCS3 was expressed mainly in photoreceptor cells in the retina. In the SOCS3-deficient retinas, rhodopsin protein levels dropped sooner, and the reduction was more profound than in the wild type. Visual dysfunction, measured by electroretinogram, was prolonged in retina-specific SOCS3 conditional knock-out mice. Visual dysfunction and decreased rhodopsin levels both correlated with increased STAT3 activation enhanced by SOCS3 deficiency. Interleukin 6, one of the inflammatory cytokines found during retinal inflammation, activated STAT3 and decreased rhodopsin protein in adult retinal explants. This was enhanced by inhibiting SOCS3 function in vitro, indicating that rhodopsin reduction was not a secondary effect in the mutant mice. Interestingly, in the inflamed SOCS3-deficient adult retina, rhodopsin decreased post-transcriptionally at least partly through ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation accelerated by STAT3 activation and not transcriptionally as in the developing retina, on which we reported previously. A STAT3-dependent E3 ubiquitin ligase, Ubr1, was responsible for rhodopsin degradation and was up-regulated in the inflamed SOCS3-deficient retinas. These results indicate that in wild-type animals, a decrease in rhodopsin during inflammation is minimized by endogenous SOCS3. However, when STAT3 activation exceeds some threshold beyond the compensatory activity of endogenous SOCS3, rhodopsin levels decrease. These findings suggest SOCS3 as a potential therapeutic target molecule for protecting photoreceptor cell function during inflammation.