| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
From the Institute of Biochemical Research and Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
PURPOSE. In a recent study, it was demonstrated that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) promotes the survival of retinal photoreceptors in vitro, delaying apoptosis. However, lipid enrichment in DHA is known to contribute to retina vulnerability to oxidative stress. In this study, the effect of oxidative damage on rat retina neurons in vitro and whether DHA enhances or diminishes this damage were investigated.
METHODS. Rat retina neurons in 3-day cultures, with or without DHA, were treated with the oxidant paraquat. After 24 hours, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane integrity, and Bcl-2 and Bax expression were immunocytochemically determined.
RESULTS. Paraquat induced apoptosis in amacrine and photoreceptor neurons, major neuronal types in the culture. Neuronal apoptosis was accompanied by mitochondrial membrane depolarization, an increase in the amount of photoreceptors expressing Bax, and a decrease in those expressing Bcl-2. Addition of DHA reduced photoreceptor apoptosis by almost half, simultaneously preserving their mitochondrial membrane integrity. DHA blocked the paraquat-induced increase in Bax expression and remarkably upregulated Bcl-2 expression. Glia-derived neurotrophic factor, a photoreceptor trophic factor, only slightly increased Bcl-2 expression and did not protect photoreceptors from oxidative damage. Similarly, other fatty acids tested did not prevent photoreceptor apoptosis.
CONCLUSIONS. These results show that oxidative damage induces apoptosis in retinal neurons during their early development in culture and suggest that the loss of mitochondrial membrane integrity is crucial in the apoptotic death of these cells. DHA activates intracellular mechanisms that prevent this loss and by modulating the levels of pro- and antiapoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family selectively protect photoreceptors from oxidative stress.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. P. SanGiovanni, E. Y. Chew, E. Agron, T. E. Clemons, F. L. Ferris III, G. Gensler, A. S. Lindblad, R. C. Milton, J. M. Seddon, R. Klein, et al. The Relationship of Dietary {omega}-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Intake With Incident Age-Related Macular Degeneration: AREDS Report No. 23 Arch Ophthalmol, September 1, 2008; 126(9): 1274 - 1279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 N. Farag, A. N. Ship, and J. G. Arroyo Update: A 76-Year-Old Man With Macular Degeneration JAMA, July 2, 2008; 300(1): 91 - 92. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. J. Chucair, N. P. Rotstein, J. P. SanGiovanni, A. During, E. Y. Chew, and L. E. Politi Lutein and Zeaxanthin Protect Photoreceptors from Apoptosis Induced by Oxidative Stress: Relation with Docosahexaenoic Acid Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., November 1, 2007; 48(11): 5168 - 5177. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. S. L. Tan, P. Mitchell, A. Kifley, V. Flood, W. Smith, and J. J. Wang Smoking and the Long-term Incidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration: The Blue Mountains Eye Study Arch Ophthalmol, August 1, 2007; 125(8): 1089 - 1095. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Nakazawa, T. Hisatomi, C. Nakazawa, K. Noda, K. Maruyama, H. She, A. Matsubara, S. Miyahara, S. Nakao, Y. Yin, et al. From the Cover: Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 mediates retinal detachment-induced photoreceptor apoptosis PNAS, February 13, 2007; 104(7): 2425 - 2430. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. Garelli, N. P. Rotstein, and L. E. Politi Docosahexaenoic Acid Promotes Photoreceptor Differentiation without Altering Crx Expression. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., July 1, 2006; 47(7): 3017 - 3027. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Chua, V. Flood, E. Rochtchina, J. J. Wang, W. Smith, and P. Mitchell Dietary Fatty Acids and the 5-Year Incidence of Age-Related Maculopathy Arch Ophthalmol, July 1, 2006; 124(7): 981 - 986. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. A. Pfrommer, W. Erl, and P. C. Weber Docosahexaenoic acid induces ciap1 mRNA and protects human endothelial cells from stress-induced apoptosis Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, June 1, 2006; 290(6): H2178 - H2186. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
O. L. German, G. E. Miranda, C. E. Abrahan, and N. P. Rotstein Ceramide is a Mediator of Apoptosis in Retina Photoreceptors. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., April 1, 2006; 47(4): 1658 - 1668. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Joardar, A. K. Sen, and S. Das Docosahexaenoic acid facilitates cell maturation and {beta}-adrenergic transmission in astrocytes J. Lipid Res., March 1, 2006; 47(3): 571 - 581. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. K. Mukherjee, V. L. Marcheselli, C. N. Serhan, and N. G. Bazan From The Cover: Neuroprotectin D1: A docosahexaenoic acid-derived docosatriene protects human retinal pigment epithelial cells from oxidative stress PNAS, June 1, 2004; 101(22): 8491 - 8496. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Peng, P.-H. Yang, Y. Guo, S. S. M. Ng, J. Liu, P. C. W. Fung, D. Tay, J. Ge, M.-L. He, H.-f. Kung, et al. Catalase and Peroxiredoxin 5 Protect Xenopus Embryos against Alcohol-Induced Ocular Anomalies Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., January 1, 2004; 45(1): 23 - 29. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
