Low-Intensity Ultrasound Reduces High Glucose-Induced Nitric Oxide Generation in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells

Publication date: Available online 4 January 2018
Source:Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Author(s): Mrigendra Bir Karmacharya, Binika Hada, So Ra Park, Byung Hyune Choi
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe micro-vascular complication of diabetes. High glucose (HG)-evoked nitric oxide (NO) production mediated by increased oxidative stress is a key factor in DR pathogenesis. In this study, we examined whether low-intensity ultrasound (LIUS) stimulation can reduce HG-induced NO generation. We determined that LIUS stimulation decreased the HG-induced NO generation possibly via inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and subsequently diminished the associated pro-inflammatory pathway involving the induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor. In addition, we determined that LIUS stimulation reduced the quantity of NO produced by N-acetylcysteine, which was not mediated by ROS. These results indicate that LIUS can inhibit both ROS-dependent and -independent NO generation processes in ARPE-19 cells. We envision LIUS as a potential therapeutic alternative to treat DR. Further studies are required to understand the underlying mechanism of the LIUS-induced reduction of NO generation for DR therapy.



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