title: Apigenin prevents TNF-α induced apoptosis of primary rat retinal ganglion cells.
abstract: TNF-α has recently been identified to be a mediator of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death, while glial cells are relatively protected against this death stimulus. Exposure of RGCs to TNF-α is thought to contribute to RGC apoptosis. Apigenin is a flavone with powerful anti-inflammatory properties that exists naturally in various plants and Chinese medicine. In our study, MTT assays showed that apigenin significantly inhibited the decrease of RGC viability induced by TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with apigenin prevented TNF-α-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner as shown by flow cytometry. The production of ATP and the total oxygen uptake were also promoted after apigenin administration. TNF-α stimulation led to a significant reduction of bcl-2 and enhancement of bax, which was reversed by apigenin treatment. Apigenin treatment also alleviated the increased caspase-3 activity induced by TNF-α. Moreover, luciferase reporter assay indicated that apigenin dose-dependently decreased NF-κB activation induced by TNF-α, but had no significant effect on activation of AP-1. Collectively, these data demonstrated that apigenin alleviated TNF-α-induced apoptosis through inhibition of caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway and activation of nuclear factor-kappaB. Therefore, apigenin may be developed as an anti-apoptotic drug to treat retinopathy.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai First People&apos;s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Department of Ophthalmology Shanghai China.
authors.forename: M-S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai First People&apos;s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Department of Ophthalmology Shanghai China.
authors.forename: B-J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai First People&apos;s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Department of Ophthalmology Shanghai China luodwei&commat;126.com.
authors.forename: D-W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047310:Apigenin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D016328:NF-kappa B; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D047310:Apigenin