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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 K(M) of 70-80 microM. 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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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Neurochem Res
          Neurochemical research
          Springer Science and Business Media LLC
          1573-6903
          0364-3190
          Aug 2008
          : 33
          : 8
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Departamento de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apdo. Postal 70-253, 04510, Mexico, DF, Mexico. rsalceda@ifc.unam.mx
          Article
          10.1007/s11064-008-9641-9
          18351463
          e44730a9-7b32-4b65-ba85-66796b38c41c
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