Pericyte adhesion is impaired on extracellular matrix produced by endothelial cells in high hexose concentrations

Thickening of the basement membrane and selective loss of pericytes are early events in diabetic retinopathy. We aimed at checking whether pericyte interaction with extracellular matrix produced by endothelial cells is influenced by the hexose concentrations in which endothelial cells are cultured.Conditioned extracellular matrixes were obtained by growing human umbilical vein endothelial cells in media containing 28 mmol/l hexoses (D-glucose,...