Expreion of the inducible ioform of nitric oxide ynthae in the retina of human ubject with diabete mellitu

PURPOE: Inducible nitric oxide ynthae ha been implicated in the pathogenei of cerebral ichemic damage, in the angiogenic proce and in diabetic vacular damage. Thi tudy wa undertaken to determine whether inducible nitric oxide ynthae i preent in the retina from human ubject with diabete mellitu. METHOD: Thi wa an experimental immunohitochemical propective tudy. Ten potmortem eye from five ubject with diabete mellitu, 10 eye from five ubject without diabete and without known ocular dieae, and two eye from one ubject with unilateral ocular ichemic yndrome econdary to evere carotid artery obtruction were examined. We ued immunohitochemical technique and antibodie directed againt inducible nitric oxide ynthae, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and vimentin. The main outcome meaure wa immunoreactivity for thee antibodie. REULT: Immunoreactivity for inducible nitric oxide ynthae wa not oberved in retina from all ubject without diabete and without ocular dieae. ix retina from three ubject with diabete and nonproliferative retinopathy, and the retina from the eye with ocular ichemic yndrome howed immunoreactivity for inducible nitric oxide ynthae in cell with elongated procee. Baed on morphology and on glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin immunoreactivity, thi inducible nitric oxide ynthae immunoreactivity appeared to localize to retinal Müller glial cell. CONCLUION: Thee obervation ugget that Müller cell may be involved in the microvacular remodeling of the dieaed retina and that high concentration of nitric oxide produced by inducible nitric oxide ynthae could contribute to neurotoxicity and angiogenei that occur in diabetic retinopathy