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Glycogen storage in the human retinal pigment epithelium: a comparative study of diabetic and non-diabetic donors

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Abstract

Liver and muscle glycogen content is reduced in diabetic patients but there is no information on the effect of diabetes on the glycogen content in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The main aim of the study was to compare the glycogen content in the RPE between diabetic and non-diabetic human donors. Glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP), the key enzymes of glycogen metabolism, as well as their isoforms, were also assessed. For this purpose, 44 human postmortem eye cups were included (22 from 11 type 2 diabetic and 22 from 11 non-diabetic donors matched by age). Human RPE cells cultured in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions were also analyzed. Glycogen content as well as the mRNA, protein content and enzyme activity of GS and GP were determined. In addition, GS and GP isoforms were characterized. In the RPE from diabetic donors, as well as in RPE cells grown in hyperglycemic conditions, the glycogen content was increased. The increase in glycogen content was associated with an increase in GS without changes in GP levels. In RPE form human donors, the muscle GS isoform but not the liver GS isoform was detected. Regarding GP, the muscle and brain isoform of GP but not the liver GP isoform were detected. We conclude that glycogen storage is increased in the RPE of diabetic patients, and it is associated with an increase in GS activity. Further studies aimed at determining the role of glycogen deposits in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy are warranted.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PI10/01219) and from CIBERDEM (CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas). CIBERDEM is an initiative of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

Conflict of interest

None.

Human and Animal Rights

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Responsible committee on human experimentation (Vall d’Hebron University Hospital) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 and 2008.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes and Metabolism Research Unit, Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Pg. Vall d’Hebron 119-129, 08035, Barcelona, Spain

    Cristina Hernández, Marta Garcia-Ramírez, Cristina Saez-López & Rafael Simó

  2. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), ISCIII, Barcelona, Spain

    Cristina Hernández, Marta Garcia-Ramírez, Mar García-Rocha, Cristina Saez-López, Ángela M. Valverde, Joan J. Guinovart & Rafael Simó

  3. Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Barcelona, Spain

    Mar García-Rocha & Joan J. Guinovart

  4. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (CSIC/UAM), Madrid, Spain

    Ángela M. Valverde

Authors
  1. Cristina Hernández
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  2. Marta Garcia-Ramírez
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  3. Mar García-Rocha
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  4. Cristina Saez-López
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  5. Ángela M. Valverde
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  6. Joan J. Guinovart
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  7. Rafael Simó
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Hernández.

Additional information

Communicated by Massimo Porta.

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Hernández, C., Garcia-Ramírez, M., García-Rocha, M. et al. Glycogen storage in the human retinal pigment epithelium: a comparative study of diabetic and non-diabetic donors. Acta Diabetol 51, 543–552 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-013-0549-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00592-013-0549-8

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