MELATONIN INHIBITS THE PROLIFERATION OF RETINAL-PIGMENT EPITHELIAL (RPE) CELLS-INVITRO

Citation
Hs. Yu et al., MELATONIN INHIBITS THE PROLIFERATION OF RETINAL-PIGMENT EPITHELIAL (RPE) CELLS-INVITRO, In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Animal, 29A(5), 1993, pp. 415-418
Citations number
41
Categorie Soggetti
Developmental Biology","Cytology & Histology
ISSN journal
10712690
Volume
29A
Issue
5
Year of publication
1993
Pages
415 - 418
Database
ISI
SICI code
1071-2690(1993)29A:5<415:MITPOR>2.0.ZU;2-0
Abstract
The possible antiproliferative effect of melatonin on retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in vitro was investigated. Bovine RPE cells cul tured in Ham's F12 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum had a nuclear density of 73.6 +/- 6.1 nuclei/mm2 at 72 h after seeding. T he nuclear density at this time-point was doubled if either 50 or 100 ng/ml human epidermal growth factors (hEGF) was added to the culture m edium. When these hEGF-stimulated cells were treated with melatonin fr om 10 to 500 pg/ml, the proliferation was suppressed with a dose-respo nse relationship. At 250 and 500 pg/ml melatonin, the nuclear densitie s of the melatonin-treated cells were similar to those of the control cells. Using mitotically active SV-40 transformed human fetal RPE cell s cultured in a serum-free medium, melatonin was also shown to be anti proliferative. In the presence of 500 pg/ml melatonin, the proliferati on of these cells was inhibited to 77% as compared to the control. The se results were further supported by the reduced [H-3]thymidine uptake in the melatonin-treated cells. We propose that melatonin, at physiol ogic concentrations, has an antiproliferative effect, and that culture d RPE cells stimulated to proliferate by either hEGF treatment or SV-4 0 transfection are responsive to melatonin. Melatonin may either inhib it mitosis in actively dividing cells or modulate hEGF action.