Diabetes changes ionotropic glutamate receptor subunit expression level in the human retina

Abstract

Early diabetic retinopathy is characterized by changes in subtle visual functions such as contrast sensitivity and dark adaptation. The outcome of several studies suggests that glutamate is involved in retinal neurodegeneration during diabetes. We hypothesized that the protein levels of ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits are altered in the retina during diabetes. Therefore, we investigated whether human diabetic patients have altered immunoreactivity of ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits in the retina.