©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jun 10, 2015; 6(5): 726-733
Published online Jun 10, 2015. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i5.726
Published online Jun 10, 2015. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v6.i5.726
Functions of Müller cell-derived vascular endothelial growth factor in diabetic retinopathy
Juan-Juan Wang, Meili Zhu, Yun-Zheng Le, Department of Medicine Endocrinology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States
Juan-Juan Wang, Department of Ophthalmology, Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, Huizhou 516000, Guangdong Province, China
Yun-Zheng Le, Department of Cell Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States
Yun-Zheng Le, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States
Yun-Zheng Le, Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States
Author contributions: All the authors equally contributed to this work.
Supported by The NIH grants, Nos. GM104934, EY020900 and EY021725 (NEI Core); Chinese National Natural Science Foundation grant, No. 81200699; grants from Presbyterian Health Foundation and Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research, and an endowment from Choctaw Nation (to Le YZ).
Conflict-of-interest: None.
Correspondence to: Yun-Zheng Le, PhD, Department of Medicine Endocrinology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 941 S. L. Young Blvd., BSEB 302G, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States. yun-le@ouhsc.edu
Telephone: +1-405-2711087 Fax: +1-405-2713973
Received: September 18, 2014
Peer-review started: September 18, 2014
First decision: January 8, 2015
Revised: February 21, 2015
Accepted: March 16, 2015
Article in press: March 18, 2015
Published online: June 10, 2015
Processing time: 274 Days and 9.8 Hours
Peer-review started: September 18, 2014
First decision: January 8, 2015
Revised: February 21, 2015
Accepted: March 16, 2015
Article in press: March 18, 2015
Published online: June 10, 2015
Processing time: 274 Days and 9.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Diabetic retinopathy is a disorder of blood-retina barriers (BRBs) and neurons. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs are explored for treating BRB breakdown in the disease. As VEGF is also potentially beneficial, it is essential to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of VEGF action in the retina. Discussion is centered on the usefulness of conditional gene targeting mice in dissecting the function of globally expressed VEGF and in identifying significant roles for Müller glia-derived VEGF in diabetes-induced changes in protein expression/modification, inflammation, and BRB lesions and leakage.