Long-term exposure to high glucose increases the content of several exocytotic proteins and of vesicular GABA transporter in cultured retinal neural cells.

Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness. Increasing evidence has shown that the neuronal components of the retina are affected even before the detection of vascular lesions. Hyperglycemia is considered the main pathogenic factor for the development of diabetic complications.

Diabetes causes transient changes in the composition and phosphorylation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors and interaction with auxiliary proteins in the rat retina.

Purpose: The impairment of glutamatergic neurotransmission has been associated with diabetic complications in the central nervous system, such as diabetic retinopathy. Here, we investigated the effect of elevated glucose exposure and diabetes on α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor composition, subunit phosphorylation, and the association of the GluA2 subunit with accessory proteins in the retina.

Methods: The subunit composition of AMPA receptors and the association of the GluA2 subunit with modulatory proteins were evaluated with coimmunoprecipitation in retinal neural cell cultures and in the retina of experimentally induced-diabetic rats.