Involvement of long non-coding RNA ZNF503 antisense RNA 1 in diabetic retinopathy and its possible underlying mechanism

Figures & data

Table 1. Clinical data of both patients and controls.

Variables	Levels	Diabetes	Control
Age, year	Mean ± SD	44.3 ± 6.1	46.1 ± 6.6
Sex	Male	188	60
	Female	110	38
Hypertension
	Negative	136	98
	Positive	162	0
Disease duration, year	Mean ± SD	7.8 ± 3.1	NA
HbA1c, %	Mean ± SD	7.15 ± 1.01	4.72 ± 0.63**
BMI	Mean ± SD	24.18 ± 1.01	22.78 ± 1.23**

Notes: NA, not available; **, p < 0.01.

Figure 1. Comparison of plasma levels of lncRNA ZNF503-AS1 between healthy participants and diabetic patients.

Figure 2. High plasma lncRNA ZNF503-AS1 levels were correlated with the incidence of diabetic retinopathy but not other diabetic complications. This figure shows the comparison of incidences of diabetic retinopathy (a), diabetic lung diseases (b), diabetic heart disease (c), and diabetic nephropathy (d) between high and low ZNF503-AS1 expression groups.

Notes: *, p < 0.05.

Figure 3. Comparison of plasma ZNF503-AS1 levels between patients with different diabetic complications. This figure shows the comparison of plasma ZNF503-AS1 levels between patients with different diabetic complications on the day of admission (a) and at the end of follow-up (b).

Notes: *, p < 0.05; D, diabetes only, DR, diabetic retinopathy; DL, diabetic lung diseases, DH, diabetic heart disease; DN, diabetic nephropathy.

Figure 4. ZNF503-AS1 overexpression promoted TGF-β1 expression. This figure shows the effects of high glucose environments on ZNF503-AS1 expression in ARPE-19 cells (a). ZNF503-AS1 overexpression was achieved in human retinal pigment epithelial ARPE-19 cells (b), upregulation of TGF-β1 and TGF-β receptor1 (TGFBR1) protein after ZNF503-AS1 overexpression (d) and ZNF503-AS1 expression in ARPE-19 cells treated with exogenous TGF-β1 (d).

Notes: *, p < 0.05; C, cells without transfection, NC, empty vector transfection; ZNF503-AS1, cells transfected with the ZNF503-AS1 expression vector.

Figure 5. Effects of ZNF503-AS1 overexpression on ARPE-19 cell proliferation and apoptosis. This figure shows the proliferation (a) and apoptosis (b) of ARPE-19 cells after ZNF503-AS1 overexpression. BCL2 and BAX levels in transfection groups were determined using Western blot and Bcl2/Bax ratios were calculated (c).

Notes: p < 0.05; LY, LY2109761; C, cells without transfection, NC, empty vector transfection; ZNF503-AS1, cells transfected with the ZNF503-AS1 expression vector.