Objective To observe the degradation regulation of ubiquitinproteasome inhibitor nuclear factor kappa;B(NF-kappa;B)and its inhibitory signal protein Ikappa;B kinase in earlier period diabetic retinopathy(DR),and the effects on retinal ganglion cells (RGC) apoptosis.Methods Forty healthy adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into control (group A),DR(group B),DR+lowconcentration MG132 treated (group C)and DR+high concentration MG132 treated(group D)groups,10 rats in each group.After 6 and 8 weeks,the results of body masses and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were detected,the expression of NF-kappa;B and Ikappa;B were observed by immunohistochemistry respectively.RGC apoptosis was assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labelling (TUNEL) method.Results The expression of NF-kappa;B was upregulated in group B compared with group A,its expression decreased in group D compared with group B; but the expression of Ikappa;B was contrary to NF-kappa;B; RGC apoptosis was followed a similar pattern with the expression of NF-kappa;B; the differences among them were statistically significant (P<0.01).Compared the expression of NF-kappa;B,Ikappa;B and RGC apoptosis in group C and D, there were no statistically significant differences(P>0.05).Conclusion Ubiquitin-proteasome inhibitor MG132 can block the activation of NF-kappa;B,inhibit ubiquitination of Ikappa;B degradation and RGC apoptosis.