Abstract
Purpose:
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Conflicting associations between aspirin (ASA) use and AMD have been observed in various epidemiologic studies questioning the safety of ASA in patients with AMD. The aim of this study was to characterize the effect of aspirin administration on RPE cells in-vitro and in a mouse model of dry AMD.
Methods:
In- Vitro: Human ARPE-19 cells (obtained from ATCC) were cultured for 24 hours and the RPE mono-layer was damaged using sterile pipette. These cells were then treated with ASA (0.5 mM/L or 2.0 mM/L) and vehicle separately. ELISA was used to measure the expression of VEGF-A near and distant to the injury zone of RPE cells. In- Vivo: Male C57BL/6 mice (from Jackson laboratory) were given ASA (300 mg/kg; equivalent to 325 mg in humans) in food ad libitum for 1week. Subretinal injections of PEG-400 (0.5 mg per eye) in 2 µL PBS were administered after 1 week of treatment and mice were sacrificed 3 weeks post-injection. Control mice received PBS alone. Paraffin sections of the eyes were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). The thickness of outer nuclear layer (ONL), RPE and choroid was measured using ImageJ program.
Results:
ASA did not have any significant effect on VEGF expression at the site near or distant from the zone of injury. In addition, in-vivo ASA treatment did not have any effect on ONL, RPE and choroid thickness (markers for dry AMD) in different treatment groups.
Conclusions:
Consumption of ASA may be considered safe in patients with dry ARMD.
Keywords: 748 vascular endothelial growth factor •
453 choroid: neovascularization •
494 degenerations/dystrophies