Ferulic acid attenuates high glucose-induced apoptosis in retinal pigment epithelium cells and protects retina in db/db mice

PeerJ

article

Dejun Zhu¹  Wenqing Zou¹  Xiangmei Cao²  Weigang Xu¹  Zhaogang Lu³  Yan Zhu¹  Xiaowen Hu¹  Jin Hu¹  Qing Zhu¹ 

[1] Department of Ophthalmology, Ning Xia Eye Hospital, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region ,(First Affiliated Hospital of Northwest University for Nationalities, Ningxia Clinical Research Center on Diseases of Blindness in Eye), Yinchuan;Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan;Department of Pharmacy, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan

关键词: Diabetic retinopathy;    Ferulic acid;    ARPE-19 cells;    High glucose;    Apoptosis;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.13375

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background Herein, we aimed to present evidence that Ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic acid, can alleviate high glucose (HG)-induced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell apoptosis and protect retina in db/db mice. Methods ARPE-19 cells (a human RPE cell line) were divided into four groups: control group; HG group (30 mmol/L glucose); HG+FA group (30 mmol/L glucose and 10 mmol/L FA). Cell viability and apoptosis were detected using CCK-8 and Annexin-5 staining, respectively. Apoptosis-related markers including P53, BAX and Bcl2 were examined by RT-qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. Totally, 30 male db/db mice were randomly divided into db/db group (5 ml/kg saline) and FA group (0.05 g/kg FA). After treatment for 2 months, retinal samples were subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson staining. Moreover, immunofluorescence was used to detect apoptosis-related markers. Blood samples were collected for measuring cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. Results FA treatment markedly increased cell viability and suppressed cell apoptosis of ARPE-19 cells compared to the HG-exposed group. Furthermore, FA ameliorated the abnormal expression levels of P53, BAX and Bcl2 in HG-induced ARPE-19 cells. In animal models, FA attenuated pathological changes in the retina tissues of diabetic mice. Consistent with in vitro models, FA significantly ameliorated the expression of apoptosis-related markers in retina tissues. Biochemical test results showed that FA reduced hyperlipidemia in diabetic mice. Conclusion Our findings suggest that FA alleviates HG-induced apoptosis in RPE cells and protects retina in db/db mice, which can be associated with P53 and BAX inactivation and Bcl2 activation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY