Brimonidine reduces TGF-beta-induced extracellular matrix synthesis in human Tenon’s fibroblasts

BMC Ophthalmology

Research Article

Kang Yoon Kim¹  Samin Hong¹  Sueng-Han Han¹  Chan Yun Kim¹  Gong Je Seong¹  Yoo Kyung Song¹ 

[1] Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, 120-752, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Fibroblast;    Fibrosis;    Brimonidine;    Transforming growth factor-β;    Glaucoma;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12886-015-0045-8

 received in 2014-08-12, accepted in 2014-08-12,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBrimonidine is a highly selective α2 adrenergic agonist that has been widely used in anti-glaucoma eyedrops. The aim of this study was to investigate its putative anti-fibrotic role in the fibrosis caused by activated Tenon’s fibroblasts.MethodsPrimary cultured human Tenon’s fibroblasts were exposed to 2.0 ng/mL of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) for up to 48 h. In the presence of various concentrations of brimonidine (from 0.0 to 10.0 μM), the expression levels of fibronectin, collagen types I and III, and β-actin were determined by Western immunoblots. The expression of phosphorylated SMAD2/3 (p-SMAD2/3) was then evaluated using immunofluorescence.ResultsTGF-β1 significantly increased the synthesis of fibronectin and collagens in human Tenon’s fibroblasts; however brimonidine treatment distinctly attenuated the TGF-β1-induced production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. TGF-β1 also changed the cellular morphology to be plump, while brimonidine treatment returned the cells to a spindle shape, similar to control fibroblasts. Regarding p-SMAD2/3, brimonidine treatment did not show any apparent changes in its expression.ConclusionsOur data revealed that brimonidine reduces TGF-β-induced ECM synthesis in human Tenon’s fibroblasts in vitro. This finding implies that topical administration of brimonidine may be helpful in reducing the fibrosis caused by the long-term use of topical anti-glaucoma medications.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Hong et al. 2015. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.