Dietary wolfberry upregulates carotenoid metabolic genes and enhances mitochondrial biogenesis in the retina of db/db diabetic mice.
SCOPE
Our aim was to investigate whether dietary wolfberry altered carotenoid metabolic gene expression and enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis in the retina of diabetic mice.


METHODS AND RESULTS
Six-week-old male db/db and wild-type mice were fed the control or wolfberry diets for 8 weeks. At study termination, liver and retinal tissues were collected for analysis by transmission electron microscopy, real-time PCR, immunoprecipitation, Western blot, and HPLC. Wolfberry elevated zeaxanthin and lutein levels in the liver and retinal tissues and stimulated expression of retinal scavenger receptor class B type I, glutathione S-transferase Pi 1, and β,β-carotene 9',10'-oxygenase 2, and induced activation and nuclear enrichment of retinal AMP-activated protein kinase α2 (AMPK-α2). Furthermore, wolfberry attenuated hypoxia and mitochondrial stress as demonstrated by declined expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1-α, vascular endothelial growth factor, and heat shock protein 60. Wolfberry enhanced retinal mitochondrial biogenesis in diabetic retinas as demonstrated by reversed mitochondrial dispersion in the retinal pigment epithelium, increased mitochondrial copy number, elevated citrate synthase activity, and upregulated expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ co-activator 1α, nuclear respiratory factor 1, and mitochondrial transcription factor A.


CONCLUSION
Consumption of dietary wolfberry could be beneficial to retinoprotection through reversal of mitochondrial function in diabetic mice.
['Yu|Huifeng|H|', 'Wark|Logan|L|', 'Ji|Hua|H|', 'Willard|Lloyd|L|', 'Jaing|Yu|Y|', 'Han|Jing|J|', 'He|Hui|H|', 'Ortiz|Edlin|E|', 'Zhang|Yunong|Y|', 'Medeiros|Denis M|DM|', 'Lin|Dingbo|D|']
D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases D000818:Animals D002338:Carotenoids D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental D049308:Dioxygenases D051549:Glutathione S-Transferase pi D008099:Liver D014975:Lutein D032305:Lycium D008297:Male D051379:Mice D008928:Mitochondria D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins D047495:PPAR gamma D012160:Retina D051122:Scavenger Receptors, Class B D014157:Transcription Factors D015854:Up-Regulation D024341:Xanthophylls D065146:Zeaxanthins
Wolfberry Carotenoids Mitochondrial biogenesis Hypoxia Diabetic retinopathy