Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8) Expression Is Reduced by Ischemic Insults: A Potential Therapeutic Target to Prevent Ischemic Retinopathy

The zinc (Zn(++)) transporter ZnT8 plays a crucial role in zinc homeostasis. It’s been reported that an acute decrease in ZnT8 levels impairs β cell function and Zn(++) homeostasis, which contribute to the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus (DM). Although ZnT8 expression has been detected in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), its expression profile in the retina has yet to be determined. Furthermore, the link between diabetes and ischemic retinopathy is well documented; nevertheless, the molecular mechanism(s) of such link has yet to be defined. Our aims were to; investigate the expression profile of ZnT8 in the retina; address the influence of ischemia on such expression; and evaluate the influence of YC-1; (3-(50-hydroxymethyl-20-furyl)-1-benzyl indazole), a hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) inhibitor, on the status of ZnT8 expression. We used real-time RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot in the mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and Müller cells to evaluate the effects of ischemia/hypoxia and YC-1 on ZnT8 expression. Our data indicate that ZnT8 was strongly expressed in the outer nuclear layer (ONL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), and nerve fiber layer (NFL), whereas the photoreceptor layer (PRL), inner nuclear layer (INL) and inner plexiform layer (IPL) showed moderate ZnT8 immunoreactivity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that retinal ischemic insult induces a significant downregulation of ZnT8 at the message and protein levels, YC-1 rescues the injured retina by restoring the ZnT8 to its basal homeostatic levels in the neovascular retinas. Our data indicate that ischemic retinopathy maybe mediated by aberrant Zn(++) homeostasis caused by ZnT8 downregulation, whereas YC-1 plays a neuroprotective role against ischemic insult. Therefore, targeting ZnT8 provides a therapeutic strategy to combat neovascular eye diseases.