Abstract
Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells secrete vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a cytokine known to promote angiogenesis. Results from RNase protection assays (RPAs) show that RPE from non-diabetic human donors and from adult retinal pigment epithelium-19 (ARPE-19) cells expressed significant bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) message. In addition, ARPE-19 cells cultured in high glucose (25 mM), compared to those in physiological glucose (5.5 mM) released significantly more BMP-4 into the conditioned media (CM). However, the effect of BMP-4 on the release of VEGF by ARPE-19 cells has not been studied. Accordingly, ARPE-19 cells were treated with BMP-4 to determine VEGF secretion. BMP-4 and VEGF levels in the CM and cell lysates were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cells treated with exogenous BMP-4 had higher VEGF in the CM and this treatment effect was dose- and time-dependent, while cell lysates had low levels of VEGF. Addition of cycloheximide (CHX) or actinomycin-D (ACT) significantly reduced VEGF secretion from cells treated with BMP-4, suggesting that the BMP-4-induced secretion of VEGF requires new RNA and protein synthesis. Our results suggest that BMP-4 may play a role in the regulation of ocular angiogenesis associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR) by stimulating VEGF release from RPE cells.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 1196-1202 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Cellular Biochemistry |
Volume | 98 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2006 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- ARPE-19
- Angiogenesis
- Bone morphogenetic protein
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal pigment epithelium
- Vascular endothelial growth factor
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology