Edaravone prevents high glucose-induced injury in retinal Müller cells through thioredoxin1 and the PGC-1α/NRF1/TFAM pathway

Context Oxidative injury in a high-glucose (HG) environment may be a mechanism of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and edaravone can protect retinal ganglion cells by scavenging ROS. Objective To explore the effect of edaravone on HG-induced injury. Materials and methods First, Muller cells were cultured by different concentrations of glucose for different durations to obtain a suitable culture concentrations and duration. Muller cells were then divided into Control, HG + Vehicle, HG + Eda-5 μM, HG + Eda-10 μM, HG + Eda-20 μM, and HG + Eda-40 μM groups. Cells were cultured by 20 mM glucose and different concentrations of edaravone for 72 h. Results The IC50 of glucose at 12-72 h is 489.3, 103.5, 27.92 and 20.71 mM, respectively. When Muller cells were cultured in 20 mM glucose for 72 h, the cell viability was 52.3%. Edaravone significantly increased cell viability compared to Vehicle (68.4% vs 53.3%; 78.6% vs 53.3%). The EC50 of edaravone is 34.38 μM. HG induced high apoptosis rate (25.5%), while edaravone (20 and 40 μM) reduced it to 12.5% and 6.89%. HG increased the DCF fluorescence signal (189% of Control) and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential by 57%. Edaravone significantly decreased the DCF fluorescence signal (144% and 132% of Control) and recovered the mitochondrial membrane potential to 68% and 89% of Control. Furthermore, HG decreased the expression of TRX1, PGC-1α, NRF1 and TFAM, which were restored by edaravone. Discussion and conclusion These findings provide a new potential approach for the treatment of DR and indicated new molecular targets in the prevention of DR.