Modification of vitronectin by advanced glycation alters functional properties in vitro and in the diabetic retina.

Early diabetic retinopathy is characterized by areas of acellular capillaries and the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGE). Endothelial cell maintenance, growth, and migration is regulated by a complex system involving the partitioning of growth factors between extracellular matrix-bound proteoglycans and cells, as well as by the activation and control of pericellular proteolysis. Using specific antibodies, we compared the immunolocalization of the vascular heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG)-binding protein vitronectin (VN), HSPG, basic fibroblast growth factor, and collagen type 1 in retinae prepared from 11-month-old diabetic and nondiabetic Wistar rats. In normal rats, VN immunostaining was prominent in vascularized parts of the inner retina and colocalized with HSPG, which itself showed costaining with basic fibroblast growth factor in the extracellular matrix, vascular walls, and the inner limiting membrane. In contrast, the recognition of VN, HSPG, and basic fibroblast growth factor in diabetic retinae was greatly reduced in the inner limiting membrane and the extracellular matrix, where increased immunoreactive AGE colocalizing with VN were detectable. Capillary labeling of retinal vessel walls for plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 was moderate in both normal and diabetic retinae. AGE-VN was demonstrated in tissue extracts from retina by immunoprecipitation and Western blotting and presented a similar increase of AGE-related immunoreactivity compared with AGE-VN generated in vitro. AGE-VN in vitro had lost its native conformation, yielded high Mr SDS-resistant products, and was resistant to proteolysis because of modification of about 30% of lysines. Because binding of glycosaminoglycans, as well as interaction of type I collagen and the morphoregulatory proteins osteonectin and tenascin with AGE-VN, were reduced to at least 50% of control, alteration of basic residues in the heparin-binding domain of VN is plausible. In comparison to nonmodified VN, AGE-VN exhibited reduced cell attachment-promoting activity. Together, these in vitro results suggest that AGE-VN found in vivo is related to morphologic and functional changes in the diabetic retina and may contribute to the genesis of acellular capillaries in early diabetic retinopathy.