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l-Arginine Uptake in Normal and Diabetic Rat Retina and Retinal Pigment Epithelium

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Abstract

Diabetes-induced increase in oxidative stress is postulated as playing a significant role in the development of retinopathy. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) which forms part of the retinal blood barrier has been reported to be affected in diabetes. Besides functioning as a neurotransmitter, the radical nitric oxide (NO) can act as a cytotoxic agent. NO is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) that oxidizes arginine to citrulline producing NO. Given that intracellular concentration of arginine depends mainly on its transport, we studied arginine transport in RPE and retina from normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Retina and RPE take up arginine by a saturable system with an apparent KM of 70–80 μM. Tissue incubation in the presence of insulin or high glucose concentrations significantly increased arginine transport in RPE but not in retina from control rats. Similarly, arginine uptake was enhanced in RPE, but not in the retina from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. However, NO content was two-fold higher in diabetic retina and RPE compared to that in the control rats. Such findings may suggest that diabetes induced an increase in NO levels in RPE, which may have brought about alterations in its functioning and in turn manifestations of diabetic retinopathy.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially supported by CONACYT grant U45840 and PAPIIT/UNAM grant IN 204000.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70-253, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Rocío Salceda, Claudia Hernández-Espinosa & Gustavo Sánchez-Chávez

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  1. Rocío Salceda
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  2. Claudia Hernández-Espinosa
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  3. Gustavo Sánchez-Chávez
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Correspondence to Rocío Salceda.

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Special issue article in honor of Dr. Ricardo Tapia.

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Salceda, R., Hernández-Espinosa, C. & Sánchez-Chávez, G. l-Arginine Uptake in Normal and Diabetic Rat Retina and Retinal Pigment Epithelium. Neurochem Res 33, 1541–1545 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-008-9641-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-008-9641-9

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