PVT1 inhibition promoted viability and suppressed cell apoptosis in HG-stimulated ARPE-19 cells. (a) The PVT1 expression in ARPE-19 cells stimulated by D-glucose (glucose) at concentrations of 0, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 mM for 24 h. (b) The expression of PVT1 under the HG treatment and knockdown efficiency of PVT1 was assessed using RT-qPCR analysis. (c) The viability of ARPE-19 cells under HG stimulation and posttransfection of sh-PVT1 was measured using MTT assay. (d) TUNEL assay was performed to access the ARPE-19 cell apoptosis. (e) The western blot analysis showed the protein expression of ICAM, VEGF and TNF-α in HG-stimulated ARPE-19 cells after the transfection of sh-PVT1. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.