TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA INHIBITS THE CYTOKINE-MEDIATED EXPRESSION OF THE INDUCIBLE NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE MESSENGER-RNA IN HUMAN RETINAL-PIGMENT EPITHELIAL-CELLS
Rk. Kutty et al., TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA INHIBITS THE CYTOKINE-MEDIATED EXPRESSION OF THE INDUCIBLE NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE MESSENGER-RNA IN HUMAN RETINAL-PIGMENT EPITHELIAL-CELLS, Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 215(1), 1995, pp. 386-393
Human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in culture respond to a m
ixture of cytokines (IFN-gamma, IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha) by producing lar
ge amounts of nitric oxide. Transforming growth factor-beta, unlike ot
her growth factors, was found to inhibit this response by more than 75
%. The expression of mRNA for the inducible form of nitric oxide synth
ase in RPE cells treated with cytokines was demonstrated by reverse tr
anscription-polymerase chain reaction, sequencing of the PCR product a
nd northern blotting. Transforming growth factor-beta was highly effec
tive in inhibiting (by 75%) the cytokine-induced nitric oxide synthase
mRNA expression. This response by RPE may play an important role in t
he etiology of infectious and inflammatory diseases affecting retina.
(C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.