Int J Med Sci 2020; 17(5):591-598. doi:10.7150/ijms.38078 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266500, Shandong Province, China.
2. Central Laboratory, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266500, Shandong Province, China.
3. Center for Ophthalmology, Institute for Ophthalmic Research, University of Tuebingen, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the common and important cause for visual impairment and blindness in working-aged people. Microangiopathy and inflammatory reactions are the key components of DR. Recently, long non-coding RNA myocardial infarction-associated transcript (MIAT) has emerged as a vital player in regulation for inflammatory processes and microvascular dysfunction. Additionally, cell-based therapy provides a potential option for the treatment of DR. The anti‐inflammatory effects and repair therapy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been paid more attention. This study investigated the effects of human umbilical-cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs) injection on diabetic rat model. The results show that the level of MIAT is significantly decreased in the diabetic retina after the injection of HUMSCs. Moreover, HUMSCs can significantly decrease the expression of IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA; alleviate microvascular permeability, and upregulate Occludin expression. Studies have shown that MIAT knockdown could alleviate diabetes-induced inflammation responses and vascular leakage. Furthermore, our findings also showed that the expression of MIAT was positively correlated with the expression of IL-1β and IL-6. These results suggest that MIAT might play important regulatory roles in alleviating inflammatory reactions and microangiopathy inducing by DR after transplantation of HUMSCs.
Keywords: Diabetic retinopathy, Human umbilical-cord mesenchymal stem cells, Long noncoding RNA MIAT, Microangiopathy, Inflammation