Protective Effects of Melatonin on Retinal Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Experimental Diabetic Retinopathy

Figure 9

Effects of melatonin on VEGF expression in retinas of diabetic rats. (a) Western blots of VEGF protein in retinas obtained from rats in the three study groups. (b) Quantification data from the western blots after normalizing to β-actin. (c) VEGF expression measured by real-time RT-PCR and normalized to β-actin mRNA. , , and when compared with the ND group. ND, nondiabetic group; D4/D8/D12, diabetic group at 4, 8, and 12 weeks; DM4/DM8/DM12, melatonin-treated diabetic group at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. As there was no significant difference at all the time points of nondiabetic group, results just showed a random age-matched control group as normal control group.

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