Linoleic Acid is a Diabetes-relevant Stimulator of Retinal Inflammation in Human Retinal Muller Cells and Microvascular Endothelial Cells.

Objective: To determine the effect of oleic acid and linoleic acid on the production and secretion of specific diabetic retinopathy- (DR-) related cytokines: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) by human retinal glial cells, retinal endothelial cells, and retinal pigment epithelial cells. These expression profiles will be compared to those obtained by treatment of the same cell types with elevated D-glucose, a diabetes-relevant stimulus often used in retinal cell culture experiments.

Methods: Primary cultures of human retinal Müller cells, astrocytes, and microvascular endothelial cells (RMEC) and a human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) were treated with oleic acid, linoleic acid, elevated D-glucose, or L-glucose as an osmotic control.