Autophagy positively regulates Wnt signaling in mice with diabetic retinopathy

xlomafota13 shared this article with you from Inoreader Autophagy positively regulates Wnt signaling in mice with diabetic retinopathy Via Experimental and therapeutic medicine Exp Ther Med. 2021 Oct;22(4):1164. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10598. Epub 2021 Aug 12. ABSTRACT Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a microvascular complication of diabetes. Aberrant Wnt signaling activation plays a pathological role in DR. However, the underlying mechanisms of aberrant Wnt signaling in DR remain unknown. Autophagy has been reported to be involved in the pathophysiology of DR. The present study aimed therefore to investigate the regulatory effects of autophagy on Wnt signaling in DR. Wnt signaling was activated in the retina of db/db mice combined with an increase in the expression of the autophagic proteins microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 and beclin-1 and a decrease in the expression of the autophagic protein P62. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenin decreased Wnt signaling in diabetic retinas, indicating a potential association between Wnt signaling and autophagy. Rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, upregula ted Wnt signaling in the retina of normal C57BL/6J mice. In cultured Müller cells, rapamycin induced autophagy and activated Wnt signaling, while chloroquine, an autophagy inhibitor, inhibited autophagy and downregulated Wnt signaling, suggesting that autophagy could regulate Wnt signaling in mice retina and retinal cells. In summary, this study demonstrated that autophagy may positively regulate Wnt signaling in diabetic retinas, indicating a potential mechanism of Wnt signaling upregulation in DR and a possible novel therapeutic target of DR. PMID:34504609 | PMC:PMC8393590 | DOI:10.3892/etm.2021.10598 View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.