Resveratrol blocks diabetes‐induced early vascular lesions and vascular endothelial growth factor induction in mouse retinas

Abstract

. Purpose: Vessel leakage and loss of pericytes are early signs of diabetic retinopathy (DR), which leads to vision loss. Upregulation of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during diabetes plays a key role in mediating these vascular lesions. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of resveratrol, a natural plant‐derived phytoalexin, on vascular damage and VEGF induction in mouse retinas of early diabetes. Methods: Diabetes was induced in C57BL/6 mice by five consecutive‐intraperitoneal injections of 55 mg/kg of streptozotocin (STZ). Animals injected with buffer only were used as controls. Beginning 1 month after the fifth injection of STZ or buffer, 20 mg/kg of resveratrol was administered by oral gavage daily for 4 weeks to diabetic and control mice, and all mice were killed 2 months after the injections. We assessed vessel leakage, pericyte loss and VEGF protein expression in mouse retinas of 2‐month diabetes compared with controls with or without resveratrol treatment. Results: Diabetes led to increase vessel leakage, pericyte loss and VEGF protein level in the mouse retinas compared with controls; however, these changes were effectively blocked by resveratrol treatment. Conclusion: Our data suggest that resveratrol is effective to decrease vascular lesions and VEGF induction in mouse retinas of early diabetes.

Resveratrol ameliorates high-glucose-induced hyperpermeability mediated by caveolae via VEGF/KDR pathway

“…The results indicated that VEGF/KDR pathway was responsible for high-glucose-induced hyperpermeability by regulating cav-1 expression. RSV was reported to downregulate VEGF in diabetes (Kim et al 2012) and inhibit the VEGF-induced pro-arteriogenic effects in a hypercholesterolemic swine model (Chu et al 2011). Another research showed that RSV exerted anti-angiogenic effect by downregulating KDR (Alex et al 2010).…”

Effect of Resveratrol-Based Nutritional Supplement on Choroidal Thickness: A Pilot Study

“…7 The choroidal thickness also decreased in both the macula and peripapillary areas in diabetic eyes with clinical signs of DR compared with the control group. 6 The most common cause of vision loss in the working age population is DR. 43 Thus, the pathophysiological role of choroidal circulation in the natural history of DR, mainly in outer retinal impairment, should be reconsidered. 6 Our study also provides further insights into possible actions in the field of ophthalmology for curing eye diseases, such as AMD and DR. Longevinex ® was shown to exhibit an unparalleled margin of safety at high doses, superior to resveratrol alone.…”

Resveratrol: A miraculous natural compound for diseases treatment

“…eNOS is related to inflammation in chronic diabetes and vascular neovascularization (Yar et al., 2012). Evaluation of the RSV effects on vascular damage and induction of VEGF in the retinas of mice with induced diabetes have shown that increasing of vessel leakage and VEGF protein levels are prevented by RSV treatment (Kim, Kim, Roh, Choi, & Cho, 2012). Li, Wang, Huang, and Zheng (2012) have shown that RSV has inhibition effects on endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), which is related to retinal vascular degeneration.…”