Effect of high mobility group box 1 on the human retinal pigment epithelial cell in high-glucose condition

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains a prevalent complication of diabetes and one of the leading causes of blindness among working-age adults. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of the development of DR was still unclear by now. HMGB1 is a non-histone DNA-binding protein and serves as a structural component to facilitate the assembly of nucleoprotein complexes in the nucleus. In the present study, we examined the serum level of HMGB1 and VEGFA in the DR patients. Besides, we also detect the association between HMGB1 and VEGFA level. In the advanced in-vitro study, we detect the protective effect of HMGB1 on the RPE cells in high glucose condition. In this study, we demonstrated that HMGB1 and VEGFA expressions were upregulated in serum samples of DR patients. Advanced analysis showed that HMGB1 and VEGFA level was positively associated. In the in-vitro study, it was found that up-regulation of HMGB1 inhibited the RPE cell viability and induce the apoptosis. Besides, HMGB1 treatment would up-regulate the expression of VEGFA in the RPE cells in high glucose condition. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that HMGB1 and VEGFA are key players in the ability to suppress cell viability and induce apoptosis. The result of this current experiments shed light into the mechanism by which HMGB1 works. Besides, we also present the data of case control study data, our results showed that HMGB1 might be used as biomarkers of DR.