title: Glutamate-stimulated proliferation of rat retinal pigment epithelial cells.
abstract: We investigated the effects of glutamate on cell proliferation and the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and its receptor (FGF-R1) mRNA in cultured rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The number of primary RPE cells was significantly higher after treatment with 0.2 to 1.0 mM glutamate (maximum at 1.0 mM) for 7 days than in controls. Glutamate-stimulated cell proliferation was abolished by (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK-801), but not by 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione or L(+)-2-amino-3-phosphonopropionic acid. Proliferation was increased to a similar extent by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), but not by kainate, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-3-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid or trans-(+/-)-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid. NMDA-receptor-like immunoreactivity was detected in most cells cultured. Treatment of cells with glutamate increased the level of bFGF mRNA and, to a lesser extent, that of FGF-R1 mRNA, which peaked 2 and 4 days, respectively, after glutamate was added. The increase in bFGF mRNA induced by glutamate was inhibited by MK-801. These findings suggest that glutamate might stimulate proliferation of RPE cells through activation of NMDA receptors and expression of bFGF and further suggest that glutamate may be involved in the proliferative changes of RPE cells in retinal wound healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kiuchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tobe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shioda
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000235:genetics; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D018698:Glutamic Acid