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Chronic sildenafil citrate use decreases retinal vascular endothelial growth factor expression in diabetic rats: a pilot study.
- Source :
-
International journal of retina and vitreous [Int J Retina Vitreous] 2023 Jul 17; Vol. 9 (1), pp. 42. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 17. - Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Background: Sildenafil citrate (SC) attenuates endothelial dysfunction. However, its effects on diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is mainly a microvascular disease, remain unclear. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be a critical mediator of DR. Therefore, we investigated the effects of SC on diabetic retina by measuring VEGF levels.<br />Methods: In this study, twenty-eight rats were divided into the following groups: group I, the control group; group II, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes; group III, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes receiving daily oral sildenafil at 1 mg/kg; and group IV, rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes receiving high-dose daily sildenafil at 2.5 mg/kg. After 3 months, VEGF was measured in the retina specimen in one eye and the vitreous body in the other eye by immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.<br />Results: We found that VEGF expression in the retina was low in all rats from groups I and IV and in 30% of rats from group III; 80% of rats in group II demonstrated high VEGF expression in the retinae (P < 0.001). VEGF concentrations in the vitreous body samples were 32 ± 2, 61 ± 4, 44 ± 5, and 36 ± 3 pg/l in groups I-IV, respectively (P < 0.001).<br />Conclusion: VEGF decreased significantly in the eyes of diabetic rats after chronic oral sildenafil citrate treatment. SC may have a modifying/attenuating effect on DR. However, further studies are needed to evaluate its use as an adjunctive treatment.<br /> (© 2023. The Author(s).)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2056-9920
- Volume :
- 9
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- International journal of retina and vitreous
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 37460929
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40942-023-00480-x