Browsing by Author "Lydic, Todd A."

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    Dual Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Angiogenic Action of miR-15a in Diabetic Retinopathy.
    (Elsevier, 2016-09) Wang, Qi; Navitskaya, Svetlana; Chakravarthy, Harshini; Huang, Chao; Kady, Nermin; Lydic, Todd A.; Chen, Y. Eugene; Yin, Ke-Jie; Powell, Folami Lamoke; Martin, Pamela M.; Grant, Maria B.; Busik, Julia V.; Department of Ophthalmology, IU School of Medicine
    Activation of pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic pathways in the retina and the bone marrow contributes to pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. We identified miR-15a as key regulator of both pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic pathways through direct binding and inhibition of the central enzyme in the sphingolipid metabolism, ASM, and the pro-angiogenic growth factor, VEGF-A. miR-15a was downregulated in diabetic retina and bone marrow cells. Over-expression of miR-15a downregulated, and inhibition of miR-15a upregulated ASM and VEGF-A expression in retinal cells. In addition to retinal effects, migration and retinal vascular repair function was impaired in miR-15a inhibitor-treated circulating angiogenic cells (CAC). Diabetic mice overexpressing miR-15a under Tie-2 promoter had normalized retinal permeability compared to wild type littermates. Importantly, miR-15a overexpression led to modulation toward nondiabetic levels, rather than complete inhibition of ASM and VEGF-A providing therapeutic effect without detrimental consequences of ASM and VEGF-A deficiencies.
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    The Mechanism of Diabetic Retinopathy Pathogenesis Unifying Key Lipid Regulators, Sirtuin 1 and Liver X Receptor
    (Elsevier, 2017-08) Hammer, Sandra S.; Beli, Eleni; Kady, Nermin; Wang, Qi; Wood, Kiana; Lydic, Todd A.; Malek, Goldis; Saban, Daniel R.; Wang, Xiaoxin X.; Hazra, Sugata; Levi, Moshe; Busik, Julia V.; Grant, Maria B.; Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine
    Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication secondary to diabetes and is the number one cause of blindness among working age individuals worldwide. Despite recent therapeutic breakthroughs using pharmacotherapy, a cure for DR has yet to be realized. Several clinical trials have highlighted the vital role dyslipidemia plays in the progression of DR. Additionally, it has recently been shown that activation of Liver X receptor (LXRα/LXRβ) prevents DR in diabetic animal models. LXRs are nuclear receptors that play key roles in regulating cholesterol metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and inflammation. In this manuscript, we show insight into DR pathogenesis by demonstrating an innovative signaling axis that unifies key metabolic regulators, Sirtuin 1 and LXR, in modulating retinal cholesterol metabolism and inflammation in the diabetic retina. Expression of both regulators, Sirtuin 1 and LXR, are significantly decreased in diabetic human retinal samples and in a type 2 diabetic animal model. Additionally, activation of LXR restores reverse cholesterol transport, prevents inflammation, reduces pro-inflammatory macrophages activity and prevents the formation of diabetes-induced acellular capillaries. Taken together, the work presented in this manuscript highlights the important role lipid dysregulation plays in DR progression and offers a novel potential therapeutic target for the treatment of DR.
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    Reshaping lipid metabolism with long-term alternate day feeding in type 2 diabetes mice
    (Springer Nature, 2025) Beli, Eleni; Yan, Yuanqing; Moldovan, Leni; Lydic, Todd A.; Krishman, Preethi; Tersey, Sarah A.; Duan, Yaqian; Salazar, Tatiana E.; Dominguez, James M., II; Nguyen, Dung V.; Cox, Abigail; Li Calzi, Sergio; Beam, Craig; Mirmira, Raghavendra G.; Evans-Molina, Carmella; Busik, Julia V.; Grant, Maria B.; Ophthalmology, School of Medicine
    Strategies to improve metabolic health include calorie restriction, time restricted eating and fasting several days per week or month. These approaches have demonstrated benefits for individuals experiencing obesity, metabolic syndrome, and prediabetes. However, their impact on established diabetes remains incompletely studied. The chronicity of type 2 diabetes (T2D) requires that interventions must be undertaken for extended periods of time, typically the entire lifetime of the individual. In this study, we examined the impact of intermittent fasting (IF), with an every-other-day protocol for a duration of 6 months in a murine model of T2D, the db/db (D) mouse on metabolism and liver steatosis. We compared D-IF mice with diabetic ad-libitum (AL; D-AL), control-IF (C-IF) and control-AL (C-AL) cohorts. We demonstrated using lipidomic, microbiome, metabolomic and liver transcriptomic studies that chronic IF improved carbohydrate utilization and glucose homeostasis without weight loss and reduced white adipose tissue inflammation and significantly impacted lipid metabolism in the liver. Microbiome studies and predicted functional analysis of gut microbiota showed that IF increased beneficial bacteria involved in sphingolipid (SL) metabolism. The metabolomic studies showed that oxidation of lipid species and ceramide levels were reduced in D-IF compared to D-AL. The liver lipidomic analysis and liver microarray confirmed a reduction in overall lipid content in D-IF mice compared to D-AL mice, especially in the feeding state as well as an overall reduction in oxidized lipids and ceramides. These studies support that long-term IF can improve glucose homeostasis and dramatically altered lipid metabolism in the absence of weight loss.