Chronically elevated glucose-induced apoptosis is mediated by inactivation of Akt in cultured Müller cells

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 326; no. 3; pp. 548 - 553
• Main Authors: Xi, Xia, Gao, Ling, Hatala, Denise A., Smith, Dawn G., Codispoti, Maria C., Gong, Bendi, Kern, Timothy S., Zhang, Jin-Zhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 21-01-2005
• Subjects: Akt; Animals; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - physiology; bcl-Associated Death Protein; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; Caspases - metabolism; Cytochromes c - metabolism; Diabetic retinopathy; Elevated glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Müller cell; Neuroglia - metabolism; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - metabolism; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Rats; Retina - metabolism; Diabetic retinopathy; Akt; Müller cell; Elevated glucose; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.11.064

Hyperglycemia induces apoptotic cell death in a variety of cell types in diabetes, and the mechanism remains unclear. We report here that culture of rat retinal glial Müller cells in 25
mM glucose for 72
h significantly inactivated Akt and induced apoptosis. Likewise, hyperglycemia caused a significant dephosphorylation of Akt at serine-473 in Müller cells in the retina of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Inactivation of Akt was associated with dephosphorylation of BAD, increased cytochrome
c release, and activation of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Upregulation of Akt activity by overexpression of constitutively active Akt inhibited elevated glucose-induced apoptosis, whereas downregulation of Akt activity by overexpression of dominant negative Akt exacerbated elevated glucose-induced apoptosis, as assessed by caspase activity and nucleic acid staining. These data suggest that apoptosis induced by chronically elevated glucose is at least in part mediated by downregulation of Akt survival pathway in cultured Müller cells. It has been reported that antiapoptotic effect of Akt requires glucose in growth factor withdrawal-induced apoptosis. Our data suggest that although acutely elevated glucose may be beneficial to the cell survival, chronically elevated glucose can cause apoptosis via downregulation of Akt survival signaling.