TY - JOUR T1 - Dapagliflozin protects neural and vascular dysfunction of the retina in diabetes JF - BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care JO - BMJ Open Diab Res Care DO - 10.1136/bmjdrc-2022-002801 VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - e002801 AU - Qianyi Luo AU - Sameer P Leley AU - Erika Bello AU - Hurshdeep Dhami AU - Deepa Mathew AU - Ashay Dilip Bhatwadekar Y1 - 2022/05/01 UR - http://drc.bmj.com/content/10/3/e002801.abstract N2 - Introduction Dapagliflozin, a sodium-glucose transporter inhibitor, effectively reduces blood glucose and is indicated for individuals with kidney diseases and cardiovascular disorders. In this study, we further expand the therapeutic benefit of dapagliflozin in the neural and vascular retina, with the potential to effectively manage diabetic retinopathy (DR), the most common complication of diabetes.Research design and methods Db/db mice, an animal model of type 2 diabetes, were treated with dapagliflozin orally, and the electroretinogram (ERG) response and acellular capillary numbers were assessed. Messenger RNA levels of inflammatory cytokines were studied using real-time quantitative (q)PCR. We assessed endothelial cell migration in a scratch wound assay and retinal glucose uptake using human retinal endothelial cells.Results The dapagliflozin treatment improved the ERG b-wave amplitude and decreased acellular capillary numbers. The scratch wound assay demonstrated a reduction in wound closure after dapagliflozin treatment. Retinal glucose uptake reduced after dapagliflozin treatment compared with the respective controls.Conclusions Our studies suggest that dapagliflozin treatment effectively corrects neural and vascular dysfunction of the retina in diabetes. This effect is mediated by a decrease in inflammation and improved glycemic control. In addition, dapagliflozin exhibits decreased wound healing and glucose uptake, which could benefit the retina. Thus, dapagliflozin could be helpful in the management of DR, with multimodal therapeutic effects.Data are available upon reasonable request. ER -