Studies on Retinal and Retinal Pigment Epithelial Gene Expression

Author(s):  
Itay Chowers ◽  
Noriko Esumi ◽  
Peter Campochiaro ◽  
Donald J. Zack
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Ye ◽  
Ting Yu ◽  
Yanqun Li ◽  
Bingni Chen ◽  
Jinshun Zhang ◽  
...  

To gain further insights into the molecular basis of Sulforaphane (SF) mediated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) 19 cell against oxidative stress, we investigated the effects of SF on the regulation of gene expression on a global scale and tested whether SF can endow RPE cells with the ability to resist apoptosis. The data revealed that after exposure to H2O2, RPE 19 cell viability was increased in the cells pretreated with SF compared to the cell not treated with SF. Microarray analysis revealed significant changes in the expression of 69 genes in RPE 19 cells after 6 hours of SF treatment. Based on the functional relevance, eight of the SF-responsive genes, that belong to antioxidant redox system, and inflammatory responsive factors were validated. The up-regulating translation of thioredoxin-1 (Trx1) and the nuclear translocation of Nuclear factor-like2 (Nrf2) were demonstrated by immunoblot analysis in SF treated RPE cells. Our data indicate that SF increases the ability of RPE 19 cell against oxidative stress through up-regulating antioxidative enzymes and down-regulating inflammatory mediators and chemokines. The results suggest that the antioxidant, SF, may be a valuable supplement for preventing and retarding the development of Age Related Macular Degeneration.


2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
RUN-TAO YAN ◽  
SHU-ZHEN WANG

Embryonic chick retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells can undergo transdifferentiation upon appropriate stimulation. For example, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) induces intact RPE tissue younger than embryonic day 4.5 (E4.5) to transdifferentiate into a neural retina. NeuroD, a gene encoding a basic helix-loop–helix transcription factor, triggers de novo production of cells that resemble young photoreceptor cells morphologically and express general neuron markers (HNK-1/N-CAM and MAP2) and a photoreceptor-specific marker (visinin) from cell cultures of dissociated E6 RPE (Yan & Wang, 1998). The present study examined whether bFGF will lead to the same transdifferentiation phenomenon as neuroD when applied to dissociated, cultured E6 RPE cells, and whether interplay exists between the two factors under the culture conditions. Dissociated E6 RPE cells were cultured in the presence or absence of bFGF, and with or without the addition of retrovirus expressing neuroD. Gene expression was analyzed with immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. Unlike neuroD, bFGF did not induce the expression of visinin, or HNK-1/N-CAM and MAP2. However, bFGF elicited the expression of RA4 immunogenicity; yet, many of these RA4-positive cells lacked a neuronal morphology. Addition of bFGF to neuroD-expressing cultures did not alter the number of visinin-expressing cells; misexpression of neuroD in bFGF-treated cultures did not change the number of RA4-positive cells, suggesting the absence of interference or synergistic interaction between the two factors. Our data indicated that bFGF and neuroD induced the expression of different genes in cultured RPE cells.


2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariola Dorecka ◽  
Tomasz Francuz ◽  
Wojciech Garczorz ◽  
Krzysztof Siemianowicz ◽  
Wanda Romaniuk

Hyperglycemia and increased concentrations of elastin degradation products (EDPs) are common findings in patients with diabetes, atherosclerosis and hypertension. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of high glucose, EDPs and atorvastatin on MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9 and TIMP1-3 gene expression in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (HRPE) in vitro. HRPE were cultured for 24 hours with the substances being tested (glucose, EDPs), alone or in combination. Additionally, the cells were treated with atorvastatin in two different concentrations (1 or 10 μM). After incubation, total cellular RNA was extracted and used for gene expression evaluation. Gene expression was measured using the real-time RT-PCR technique. Glucose, EDPs and atorvastatin had no impact on TIMP-1 and TIMP-3 expression. HRPE cells treated with glucose or EDPs with the addition of atorvastatin had a statistically significant decrease of TIMP-2 expression; glucose alone decreased MMP-1 expression. Atorvastatin decreased expression of all assessed genes, except TIMP-1 and TIMP-3 in a dose-dependent manner. Our results confirm the importance of MMPs and TIMPs in retinal vascular biology. Atorvastatin-induced MMPs gene expression can deeply affect extracellular matrix turnover, which may play an important role in the progression of ocular diseases.


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