Objective To study the effect of advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) on human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Methods Human primary RPE cells were cultured in basal and different concentrations of AGEs with different times. The cells were divided into several groups as follows: group C (control): bovine serum albumin 0.1 g/L, 24 hours (C1) and 48 hours (C2); group NC (normal control): basal culture medium with 5.6 mmol/L of glucose, 24 hours (NC1) and 48 hours (NC2); group A (AGEs): 0.1 g/L, 24 hours and 48 hours, A1 and A4; 0.2 g/L, 24 hours and 48 hours, A2 and A5; 0.4 g/L, 24 hours and 48 hours, A3 and A6. Immunohistochemistry analysis was used to study the protein expression of receptor for AGEs (RAGE), peroxisome proliferativeactivated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PCG -1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein. The activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) was detected by confocal microscope. Software IPP6.0 and SPSS 17.0 were used to analyze the quantitation data. Results Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that RAGE protein, PGC-1α protein and VEGF protein were basally secreted in RPE cells, but AGEs can obviously increases the expression level of these proteins (F=294.5, 228.3, 241.5; P＜0.05). Confocal microscope demonstrated that AGEs increased the activation of NF-κB significantly. Conclusion Accumulation of AGEs can stimulate the expression of RAGE protein, PGC-1α protein and VEGF protein, activation of NF-κB and induce apoptosis of RPE cells.

Citation： ,guoxing xu. Advanced glycosylation end products and human retinal pigment epithelium cells. Chinese Journal of Ocular Fundus Diseases, 2013, 29(5): 510-513. doi: Copy