Agmatine protects cultured retinal ganglion cells from tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced apoptosis

AimsWe investigated the protective effects of agmatine against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced apoptosis in transformed rat retinal ganglion cells (RGC-5 cell line).Main methodsThe RGC-5 cells were exposed to 50 ng/mL TNF-α for 48 h with or without presence of 100 μM agmatine as indicated. Cell viability was determined by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Double staining with Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide for morphological analysis was performed. Subsequently, using annexin V assay, the proportion of cells actively undergoing apoptosis was determined.Key findingsAfter 48 h of exposure to 50 ng/mL TNF-α, 17.00% of RGC-5 cells were lost, as evident by LDH assay. TNF-α-induced RGC-5 cell death was reduced to 8.14% with 100 μM agmatine treatment. This observed cell loss was due to apoptotic cell death, as established by annexin V assay.SignificanceOur results reveal that agmatine has neuroprotective effects against TNF-α-induced apoptosis in retinal ganglion cells in vitro.