Diminution in the Expression of Markers of Diabetic Retinopathy in Human Retinal Microvascular Endothelial Cells by Arctiin

Microvascular complications of diabetes-associated inflammation lead to diabetic retinopathy. However, the molecular mechanism and the biochemical process underlying this process are not well understood. The present study is an attempt to investigate the role of a Chinese herbal compound, arctiin, on the human retinal microvascular endothelial cells damage, a cellular model for diabetic retinopathy, caused by proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-10 and interleukin-1β. The results of the study show that arctiin possessed a strong inhibitory potential against interleukin-10 and interleukin-1β with IC₅₀ values less than 0.86 μM and 0.93 μM, respectively. These data also correlate with the results from the computational analysis with a total docking score of -322.524 kJ/mol and -395.026 kJ/mol for interleukin-10 and interleukin-1β, respectively. The results herein also show that the administration of interleukin-10 and interleukin-1β accelerated the leakage of the retinal vascular system and apoptosis of the endothelial cell. In conclusion, the interleukin-10 and interleukin-1β signaling pathway may serve as a potential target for preventing diabetic retinopathy.