Apelin-13 Is an Early Promoter of Cytoskeleton and Tight Junction in Diabetic Macular Edema via PI-3K/Akt and MAPK/Erk Signaling Pathways

Figure 8

Inhibition of apelin receptor APJ with F13A dramatically reduces pathological vascular permeability in db/db mice via PI-3K/Akt and MAPK/Erk signaling pathways. The western blot results revealed that the expression of apelin receptor APJ (a), phosphorylation of cytoskeleton (VE-Cadherin and FAK) (b and c), tight junction (occludin) (d), and PI-3K/Akt and MEK/Erk signaling pathways proteins (e–h) were higher in diabetic retinopathy mice, compared with the F13A treated groups. Protein intensity was quantified by Image J software and expressed as fold of change relative to control (mean ± SD, ). , , versus control one, Student’s -test. 1C: one-month control; 1M: one month treated with F13A, 3C: 3-month control; 3M: 3 months treated with F13A; 6C: 6-month control; 6M: 6 months treated with F13A; 9C: 9-month control; 9M: 9 months treated with F13A.

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