Effects of 4-phenylbutyric acid on the development of diabetic retinopathy in diabetic rats: regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress-oxidative activation

Abstract

There are good evidences suggesting that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress can be one of the contributing factors in the development of diabetic retinopathy. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of chemical chaperone 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) in alleviating the ER stress, and diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetic rats. Treatment of diabetic rats with 4-PBA, increased the antioxidant capacity, reduced the levels of lipid peroxidation, organised the state of apoptosis and regulated the ER stress – oxidative activation in retinal tissue. Also there was an improvement in the histological picture of retinal specimens compared to untreated diabetic rats. It was concluded that 4-PBA is a promising therapeutic agent for ER stress diseases such as diabetic retinopathy.

Keywords:

• ER stress
• diabetes mellitus
• diabetic retinopathy
• chaperones
• 4-PBA

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the Research Institute of Ophthalmology for providing all requirements of this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data are available upon request from the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Giza, Egypt.