title: Experimental effect of retinoic acids on apoptosis during the development of diabetic retinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was conducted to investigate whether retinoic acids (RAs) had any effect on apoptosis during the development of diabetic retinopathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  To investigate whether RAs had any effect on apoptosis during the development of diabetic retinopathy, we housed 32 C57BL/6 male mice and induced diabetes in 24 by intra peritoneal injections of streptozotocin (STZ; Sigma, St Louis, MO) and treated 16 of the diabetic mice with the RAs, all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) (seven mice) and 4-[(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthalenyl)carboxamido] benzoic acid (Am580) (nine mice). The other eight mice were used as diabetic controls. We then measured apoptosis in the retina by TdT-dUTP terminal nick-end labeling assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RAs inhibited the apoptosis of retinal cells in diabetic retinopathy. Many apoptotic cells were observed in retinas of the eight diabetic control mice (mean value and SD: 37.8 +/- 6.9), whereas when diabetic mice were treated with RAs, the number of apoptotic cells significantly decreased (mean value and SD: 9.9 +/- 6.4 for the seven ATRA-treated diabetic mice and 9.8 +/- 5.9 for the nine Am580-treated diabetic mice) (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treatment with RAs decreases apoptosis during the development of diabetic retinopathy.
authors: Departments of Ophthalmology and Pathology, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan. nami731978@sapmed.ac.jp
authors: Nami
authors: N
authors: Nishikiori
authors: Makoto
authors: M
authors: Osanai
authors: Hideki
authors: H
authors: Chiba
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Kojima
authors: Shuichiro
authors: S
authors: Inatomi
authors: Hiroshi
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authors: Ohguro
authors: Norimasa
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