Antioxidant N-Acetyl-Cysteine Protects Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Cells from Long-Term Hypoxia Changes in Gene Expression

作者：Gerona Guillermo; Lopez Damian; Palmero Mercedes; Maneu Victoria^*

来源：Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2010, 26(4): 309-314.

DOI：10.1089/jop.2009.0101

Purpose: To further know the signaling pathways involved in hypoxia-induced apoptosis in retinal pigmented epithelial (RPE) cells and to improve the understanding of the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) treatment effect.
Methods: We analyzed the expression levels of several apoptosis-related genes by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in RPE after 72 h of maintained hypoxia, with or without 10 mM NAC treatment.
Results: Under hypoxic conditions, we detected a higher expression level of p53 and CASP8. Cell treatment with NAC 10mM prevented this increase. Other apoptosis-related genes such as bax, CASP3, CASP4, CASP7, and fas did not show an increase in expression levels in hypoxia.
Conclusions: NAC prevents the increased expression levels of p53 and CASP8 induced by long-term maintained hypoxia. The supply of antioxidants could be a useful preventive approach in protecting RPE from the effects of chronic oxygen stress, which is of great interest in oxygen stress-related diseases such as age-related macular degeneration and other senescence-associated pathologies.

• 出版日期2010-8