Effect of Hypoxia on the Survival and Production of Nitric Oxide in Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

Jin, Yong Hun; Kim, Jae Woo

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2004;45(12):2127-2132.
Published online December 1, 2004.

Effect of Hypoxia on the Survival and Production of Nitric Oxide in Trabecular Meshwork Cells.

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Dongkang Medical Center, Ulsan, Korea.
²Department of Ophthalmology, Catholic University of Daegu College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea. jwkim@cu.ac.kr

저산소증이 배양된 섬유주세포의 생존과 산화질소 생성에 미치는 영향

진용헌 ( Yong Hun Jin ) , 김재우 ( Jae Woo Kim )

Abstract

PURPOSE
To investigate the effect of hypoxia on the survival and nitric oxide (NO) production of cultured trabecular meshwork (TM) cells. METHODS: After inducing chemical hypoxia with sodium cyanide, the survival and nitrite production of the primarily cultured porcine TM cells were assessed with MTT and Griess assays. The effect of NOS inhibitor, N(omega)-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), was also assessed. Flow cytometry using annexin/PI was done to evaluate apoptosis. RESULTS: Chemical hypoxia decreased TM cell survival significantly (p<0.05) with increased NO production. This hypoxia-induced antiproliferative effect was abolished by L-NAME (p<0.05). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that hypoxia induced apoptosis of TM cells, which was inhibited by L-NAME. CONCLUSIONS: Hypoxia decreases the survival of TM cells and induced apoptosis, accompanied by increased NO production. The hypoxia-induced decreased survival of TM cells may be mediated by NO.

Key Words: Apoptosis;Hypoxia;Nitric oxide;Trabecular meshwork cells