@article{10.1167/iovs.08-2060,
    author = {Sharma, Ashish and Neekhra, Aneesh and Gramajo, Ana L. and Patil, Jayaprakash and Chwa, Marilyn and Kuppermann, Baruch D. and Kenney, M. Cristina},
    title = "{Effects of Benzo(e)Pyrene, a Toxic Component of Cigarette Smoke, on Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells In Vitro}",
    journal = {Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science},
    volume = {49},
    number = {11},
    pages = {5111-5117},
    year = {2008},
    month = {11},
    abstract = "{  purpose. To better understand the cellular and molecular basis for the epidemiologic association between cigarette smoke and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the authors examined the effects of Benzo(e)Pyrene (B(e)P), a toxic element in cigarette smoke, on human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19).  methods. ARPE-19 cells were cultured in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium containing 10\\% fetal bovine serum. Cells were treated for 24 hours with 1000 μM, 400 μM, 200 μM, and 100 μM B(e)P. Cell viability was determined by a trypan blue dye-exclusion assay. Activities of caspase-3/7, caspase-8, caspase-9, and caspase-12 were measured by a fluorescence image scanner, and DNA laddering was evaluated by electrophoresis on 3\\% agarose gel.  results. The mean percentage of cell viabilities of ARPE-19 cells was decreased in a dose-dependent manner after exposure to B(e)P at the higher concentrations of 1000 μM (20.0 ± 0.4; P \\< 0.001), 400 μM (35.6 ± 6.4; P \\< 0.001), and 200 μM (58.7 ± 2.3; P \\< 0.001) but not at 100 μM (95.9 ± 0.7; P \\> 0.05) compared with the equivalent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-treated control cultures. There were significant increases in caspase-3/7, -8, -9, and -12 activities compared with the DMSO-treated controls (P \\< 0.001). DNA laddering revealed bands at 200-bp intervals.  conclusions. These results show that B(e)P is a toxicant to human retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro. It causes cell death and induces apoptosis by the involvement of multiple caspase pathways. }",
    issn = {1552-5783},
    doi = {10.1167/iovs.08-2060},
    url = {https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.08-2060},
    eprint = {https://arvojournals.org/arvo/content\_public/journal/iovs/932946/z7g01108005111.pdf},
}