Diabetic Retinopathy in the Spontaneously Diabetic Torii Rat: Pathogenetic Mechanisms and Preventive Efficacy of Inhibiting the Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor System

Figure 7

Effects of UPARANT on levels of BRB markers. (a, c, e) Transcript levels of the BRB markers claudin-1 (a), claudin-5 (c), and ZO-1 (e) were evaluated by qPCR. Data were analyzed by the formula 2^−∆∆CT using Rpl13a and Hprt as internal standards. (b, d, f) Protein levels of claudin-1 (b), claudin-5 (d), and ZO-1 (f) were evaluated by Western blot and densitometric analysis using β-actin as the loading control. In untreated or vehicle-treated SDT rats, levels of BRB markers were decreased with respect to SD rats, while UPARANT treatment prevented this decrease. , , and versus control; versus vehicle (one-way ANOVA followed by Newman–Keuls’ multiple comparison posttest; power values: 0.85 (a), 0.99 (b), 0.85 (c), and 0.99 (d–f)). Each column represents the mean ± SEM of data from 3 independent samples, each containing 1 retina.

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