Protein kinase C expression in the rabbit retina after laser photocoagulation

Abstract

Background: Laser photocoagulation is a well established treatment for diabetic

Retinal function and PKC alpha expression after focal laser photocoagulation

“…The experiment reproduces our previous results of GFAP up-regulation and PKC alpha down-regulation in the entire retina following treatment [9], but adds interesting electrophysiological findings which may expand our understanding of biochemical events involved in retinal signal processing.…”

“…However, no detailed analysis of retinal function after focal laser photocoagulation in the experimental situation has been performed. We have previously reported that focal laser photocoagulation in the rabbit eye induces a profound down-regulation of protein kinase C (PKC) alpha, one of the key regulators of phototransduction and inner retinal signal transmission [9,43]. With the present study, we wanted to examine whether focal treatment also alters the general and local retinal…”

Retinal Damage Profiles and Neuronal Effects of Laser Treatment: Comparison of a Conventional Photocoagulator and a Novel 3-Nanosecond Pulse Laser

“…69,70 The data presented in the current study indicate that there was a partial translocation of PKCa to the bipolar cell terminals subsequent to lasing, but this effect was detected only in the irradiated zone and was far less obvious than previously described. 32,35 Moreover, there was no evidence of a retina-wide downregulation of PKCa. Again, though, the laser settings used in the previous studies were significantly higher than in the present study, ranging from 120 to 700 mW, 32,35 which is likely the reason that the results demonstrated a greater effect on PKCa here.…”

“…32,35 Both translocation to bipolar cell terminals and subsequent downregulation are known to be associated with an activation of PKCa, 65 and this activation is known to be associated with injury paradigms in the retina. [66][67][68] Since PKCa plays a central role in cellular signal transduction and modulation of neurotransmitter release, 69 its activation is of interest to retinal functioning in general.…”

“…To date, histologic damage to the retina, in particular to photoreceptors, after conventional laser photocoagulation treatment has been well documented 15,[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] ; but while it is generally accepted that damage does not extend past the photoreceptors into the inner retina, detrimental effects have been observed. 27,[32][33][34][35][36] These data suggest that the inner neural retina can be affected in some manner by standard laser photocoagulation.…”