Figure 9. Overview of the proposed mechanism by which microR-29b indirectly regulates the expression of PKR associated protein X (RAX) in the retinal neurons of the rat. According to our hypothesis, the upregulation of miR-29b in retinal neurons of diabetic rats may result in down-regulation of RAX which decreases the activated PKR level with subsequent reduction of the activity of the pro-apoptotic PKR signaling pathway. Abbreviations: Sp1 represents transcription factor Specificity protein 1; miR-29b represents microRNA-29b; RAX represents PKR associated protein X; PKR represents RNA-dependent protein kinase.