Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) is a kind of
anthocyanin which shows strong anti-
inflammation, anti-
tumor and
anti-oxidant properties. This paper was designed to explore the potential effects of C3G on
diabetic retinopathy (DR). C57BL/6 mice were administrated with
streptozotocin (STZ) or vehicle control for the establishment of diabetic models. To simulate
hyperglycemia and
hypoxia,
D-glucose (30 mM) and CoCl2 (200 μm/l) were utilized to treat HRECs, respectively. The migration, invasion,
inflammation and tube formation abilities of cells were evaluated with the adoption of wound healing, transwell, ELISA and tube formation assays, respectively. Besides, immunofluorescence staining was utilized to detect proliferation and retinal vessels.
Evans blue permeation assay were performed to evaluate the vascular leakage in DR mice. Moreover, western blot and qPCR were used to quantify the
mRNA and
protein expressions of ionized
calcium-binding adapter molecule (Iba)-1 and
tight junction proteins. Results showed that C3G alleviated the
inflammation, microglial activation and angiogenesis in DR mice. Moreover, the proliferation and
inflammation of BV2 cells induced by high
glucose (HG) were suppressed by C3G.
Evans blue permeation assay demonstrated the potency of C3G in attenuating vascular leakage. In addition, C3G suppressed the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of human
retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) DR model in vitro.By confirming the role of C3G in inhibiting vascular leakage regulated by microglia activation in early DR and angiogenesis in advanced DR, this study pointed out the potential of C3G as a therapeutic drug for DR management.