Abstract
Purpose :
Cumulative exposure to blue light may play an etiological role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is involved in the pathogenesis of AMD. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ginkgo biloba Extract (GBE) on ER stress in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells exposed to blue light.
Methods :
RPE cells (ARPE-19) were incubated with N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E) for 2 h, and exposed to blue light for 30 min in media with and without 100 μg/ml GBE. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Expressions of binding protein/glucose-regulated protein 78 (BiP/GRP78) and C/EBP homologous protein-10 (CHOP) mRNA were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). BiP/GRP78 and CHOP protein levels were assessed with Western blot.
Results :
Compared with the group not exposed to blue light, cell viability decreased, and mRNA and protein levels of two ER stress indicators, BiP/GRP78 and CHOP, increased in the group exposed to blue light (BL group). In the group treated with GBE (BL+GBE group), cell viability improved and the expressions of both mRNA and the protein of BiP/GRP78 and CHOP reduced compared with the BL group.
Conclusions :
This in vitro study demonstrates that GBE protects RPE cells from blue light-induced damage by mitigating ER stress.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.