Glucose transport, transporters and metabolism in diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common reason for blindness in working-age individuals globally. Prolonged high blood glucose is a main causative factor for DR development, and glucose transport is prerequisite for the above disturbances in DR caused by hyperglycemia. Glucose transport is mediated by its transporters, including the facilitated transporters (glucose transporter, GLUTs), the “active” glucose transporters (sodium-dependent glucose transporters, SGLTs), and the SLC50 family of uniporters (sugars will eventually be exported transporters, SWEETs). Glucose transport across the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) is crucial for nourishing the neuronal retina in the context of retinal physiology. This physiological process primarily relies on GLUTs and SGLTs, which mediate the glucose transportation across both the cell membrane of retinal capillary endothelial cells and the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Under diabetic conditions, increased accumulation of extracellular glucose enhances the retinal cellular glucose uptake and metabolism via both glycolysis and glycolytic side branches, which activates several biochemical pathways, including the protein kinase C, advanced glycation end-products (AGEs), polyol pathway and hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP). These activated biochemical pathways further increase the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress and activation of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The activated PARP further affects all the cellular components in the retina, and finally resulting in microangiopathy, neurodegeneration and low-to-moderate grade inflammation in DR. This review aims to discuss the changes of glucose transport, glucose transporters, as well as its metabolism in DR, which influences the retinal neurovascular unit and implies the possible therapeutic strategies for treating DR.