Identification of novel differentially expressed genes in retinas of STZ-induced long-term diabetic rats through RNA sequencing.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this research was to investigate the retinal transcriptome changes in long-term streptozotocin (STZ)-induced rats' retinas using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), to explore the molecular mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy (DR), and to identify novel targets for the treatment of DR by comparing the gene expression profile we obtained. METHODS: In this study, 6 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into wild-type (WT) group and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced group, 3 rats each group. After 6 months, 3 normal retina samples and 3 DM retina samples (2 retinas from the same rat were considered as 1 sample) were tested and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were measured by RNA-seq technology. Then, we did Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analysis and validated the results of RNA-seq through qRT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 118 DEGs were identified, of which 72 were up-regulated and 46 were down-regulated. The enriched GO terms showed that 3 most significant enrichment terms were binding (molecular function), cell part (cellular component), and biological regulation (biological process). The results of the KEGG pathway analysis revealed a significant enrichment in cell adhesion molecules, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and allograft rejection, etc. CONCLUSION: Our research has identified specific DEGs and also speculated their potential functions, which will provide novel targets to explore the molecular mechanisms of DR.