Effect of puerarin on matrix metalloproteinase-2 in human fetal scleral fibroblasts treated with low frequency electromagnetic fields

ObjectiveTo study the effect of puerarin on matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) gene and protein expression in human fetal scleral fibroblasts (HFSFs) exposed to extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF).MethodsCultured HFSFs were exposed to 0.2 mT ELF-EMF for 24 h. The experimental groups were divided into subgroups treated with 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 µM puerarin respectively. The expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein were detected with real-time polymerase chain reaction and western-blot analysis respectively.ResultsMMP-2 mRNA and protein expression increased by 0.793 and 1.130 folds respectively under the exposure of ELF-EMFs at 0.2 mT flux density for 24 h. Puerarin at the concentration of 0.1 μM reversed this effect by 8.53% in mRNA and by 17.97% in protein expression (P<0.05). The effect was more prominent at higher concentrations (1 and 10 μM, P<0.01).ConclusionExposure to ELF-EMFs increased the expression of MMP-2 mRNA and protein in HFSF cells. Puerarin reversed the action to some extent in a specific concentration range. Our results implied that the puerarin might protect scleral tissue from increased expression induced by exposure to ELF-EMFs.