Fig. 10. Schematic.

RPE-specific Akt2 cKO reduced the diabetes-mediated induction of the inflammatory protein level, infiltration of leukocytes and production of ROS in the retina after a 2 month duration of diabetes. Akt2 cKO also showed reduction in retinal capillary degeneration and vascular leakage even after an 8 month duration of diabetes. Such beneficial effects were indicative of the compensatory upregulation of Akt1 in the diabetic Akt2 cKO RPE cells, which downregulated GSK3β/NF-κB mediated inflammatory molecules like ICAM-1, iNOS, VEGF, TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-1β in cKO RPE cells even after diabetes induction.