Early alterations of Gi/Go protein-dependent transductional processes in the retina of diabetic animals

The early alterations of G-protein-dependent transductional mechanisms have been characterized in the retina of alloxan-treated diabetic rats. Five weeks after alloxan injection, pertussis toxin radiolabeling of Gi/Go proteins was markedly reduced in the retina of diabetic animals, suggesting either a reduced expression and/or the presence of some structural modification of these G-protein subtypes. The functional activity of Gs proteins, measured as stimulation of membrane adenylate cyclase by dopamine, did not seem to be impaired at this stage of the pathology; basal adenylate cyclase activity was indeed increased in diabetic rats, consistent with the observed reduction of Gi/Go inhibitory proteins. Such functional alterations of the cAMP producing system were causally related to diabetes induction, since they were reversed by treatment of diabetic animals with insulin. These results suggest that G-protein dependent transduction mechanisms are altered in the retina of diabetic animals, and that a defect of Gi/Go proteins could represent an early transductional damage in the development of diabetic retinopathy.