Background: To investigate in iris pigment epithelium (IPE) the expression
of mRNA for proteins involved in retinol metabolism we used a semi-quantita
tive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique.
Methods: RNA was prepared from freshly isolated bovine IPE and retinal pigm
ent epithelium (RPE) cells and reverse transcribed. The expression of mRNA
for cellular retinaldehyde binding protein (CRALBP), p63 (RPE63), the presu
med retinal pigment epithelial membrane receptor for retinoids, and 11-cis-
dehydrogenase (11cisRDH) was determined by RT-PCR using specific primers. S
emi-quantitative expression data were obtained by using a series of fivefol
d dilution of each cDNA with a fixed number of PCR cycles.
Results: Bovine IPE and RPE cells express mRNA for CRALBP, 11cis-RDH, and R
PE63. The mRNA expression for CRALBP and 11cis-RDH is high and equal in bot
h cell types. However, RPE63 mRNA expression in IPE cells is relatively low
compared with the expression in RPE cells.
Conclusions: The presence of mRNA for CRALBP, RPE63, and 11cisRDH suggests
that IPE cells may be able to metabolize retinol.