Sorbitol, myo-Inositol, and Rod Outer Segment Phagocytosis in Cultured hRPE Cells Exposed to Glucose: In Vitro Model of myo-Inositol Depletion Hypothesis of Diabetic Complications

The “myo-inositol depletion hypothesis” remains a leading but still controversial contender among proposed pathogenetic mechanisms for the chronic complications of diabetes. The multifaceted interrelationships among altered tissue myo-inositol content and metabolism and tissue function have been difficult to elucidate in diabetic animal models due in part to the complex, heterogeneous nature of tissues prone to diabetic complications. The retinal pigment epithelium consists of a homogenous cell monolayer that exhibits related alterations in myo-inositol metabolism and function in diabetic animals. Nontransformed human retinal pigment epithelial (hRPE) cells, which retain their general phenotypic and morphological characteristics during monolayer culture in vitro, were examined for parallel alterations in myo-inositol metabolism and cell function when grown under carefully controlled conditions in medium containing hyperglycemic concentrations of glucose. Exposure of hRPE cells to 20–40 mM glucose produced time- and dose-dependent increases in sorbitol content and decreases in myo-inositol content that were partially blocked by the aldose reductase inhibitor sorbinil. myo-Inositol was taken up by two Na-dependent transport systems, at least one of which was competitively inhibited by glucose. Exposure to 20 mM glucose impaired the ability of hRPE cells to take up human retinal rod outer segments, an important physiological function of these cells. The impairment of rod outer segment uptake by high glucose levels was prevented by an aldose reductase inhibitor or elevated medium myo-inositol that corrected the fall in myo-inositol content. Thus, hRPE cells provide a new in vitro model in which to examine the biochemical-functional interrelationships of the myo-inositol depletion hypothesis.