Ursodeoxycholic Acid Attenuates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Related Retinal Pericyte Loss in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice

Figure 5

AGE-induced UPR, inflammatory cytokine expression, and cell death are attenuated by UDCA in retinal pericytes. (a) Typical results of five independent western blots are shown. (b) Increase in pPERK, peIF2α, CHOP, and MCP-1 was attenuated upon cotreatment with UDCA. GRP78, ATF6, and TNF-α did not display significant changes in expression among groups. (c, d) PI staining demonstrating a protective effect of UDCA against cell death in AGE-exposed retinal pericytes. Original magnification: ×100; scale bar: 100 μm. CTL: control pericytes, AGE: AGE-exposed pericytes, and +UDCA: AGE-exposed pericytes cotreated with UDCA, < 0.05, < 0.01, < 0.001.

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