Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To determine whether stress-inducible small heat shock protein, α-crystallin, induces in vitro activation of retinal Müller glial (RMG) cells cultured from newborn rat retina. Methods: Müller cells were isolated from neonatal Wister rat retina and cultured as previously described (Hicks and Courtois, 1990). Cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of lipopolysaccharide, interferon-γ and α-crystallin. At selected intervals after exposure, nitrite levels in media were evaluated by the Griess reaction. Results: Exposure of RMG cells to α-crystallin resulted in an increased production of nitric oxide (NO). Conclusions: The results demonstrate in vitro activation of RMG cells by α-crystallin induces NO release. α-crystallin could be implicated in some retinal diseases.
Keywords: 479 Muller cells • 491 nitric oxide • 378 crystallins