title: Agmatine inhibits hypoxia-induced TNF-alpha release from cultured retinal ganglion cells.
abstract: The effect of hypoxia on the release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in transformed rat retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the effect of agmatine on the hypoxia-induced production of TNF-alpha in RGCs were evaluated. RGCs were cultured under hypoxic conditions with 5% oxygen, with or without 100 microM agmatine. The expression levels of TNF-alpha and its receptor-1 (TNF-R1) were investigated by Western blot analysis. After 6 hours of hypoxia, we noted an increase in TNF-alpha production in RGCs. Agmatine significantly reduced TNF-alpha level after 12 hours of hypoxic treatment. The expression of TNF-R1 was not affected by the hypoxia or agmatine treatment. Our results show that agmatine inhibits the TNF-alpha production of RGCs in hypoxic condition. These results demonstrate a possible neuroprotective mechanism for agmatine against hypoxic damage in RGCs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Samin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kyoungsoo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Chan Yun
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gong Je
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Seong
mesh_terms: D000376:Agmatine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D015687:Cell Hypoxia; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000376:Agmatine