Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Melatonin (MLT) against H2O2-Induced injury in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) and the mechanism.
Methods :
HCECs were pre-incubated with different concentrations of MLT (5µM, 50µM and 500µM) before H2O2 stimulus. Cell viability was evaluated by a cell counting kit-8 assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed by TUNEL assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured by fluorometric analysis using 2’,7’-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFH-DA). Western blot analysis assessed NLRP3 and caspase-1 protein expression. Bioactive IL-1β as well as IL-18 release was assessed by ELISA. Real-time PCR was used to evaluate NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β and IL-18 mRNA levels.
Results :
Melatonin significantly improved cell viability and decreased apoptosis in HCECs. MLT reduced the expression of IL-1β and Il-18 by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 and caspase-1 induced by H2O2. Generation of ROS was also reduced by MLT application in HCECs.
Conclusions :
Melatonin shows protective and anti-inflammatory effects against H2O2-induced injury likely by its anti-oxidant role and inhibiting ROS-NLRP3-IL-1β axis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.