Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1934635 Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 2008 5 Pages PDF
Abstract

This study investigated the effect of visible light exposure on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway was investigated by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis using human retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells, which demonstrated that the exposure of white light induced the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Real time RT-PCR demonstrated that the mRNA of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and vimentin increased 2.5–4-fold and that of zona occludens 1 (ZO-1) decreased approximately 0.8-fold after white light exposure. The up-regulation of vimentin expression and the down-regulation of ZO-1 were evident by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. Moreover, the ability of phagocytosis of ARPE-19 cells decreased 0.6-fold after light exposure. Together, white light exposure was supposed to induce the activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the changes in the expression markers of epithelial and mesenchymal cells in RPE cells, and the concomitant impairment of the ability of phagocytosis.

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