title: Eupatilin prevents H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.
abstract: Eupatilin, a pharmacologically active flavone derived from the Artemisia plant species, is known to possess anti-oxidant activity. However, the effects of eupatilin on oxidative stress-induced retinal damage in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and the potential mechanisms involved have not been explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of eupatilin on oxidative stress-induced retinal damage in RPE cells. Our results showed that eupatilin significantly attenuated H2O2-induced cell injury and ROS production in ARPE-19 cells. In addition, eupatilin pretreatment greatly upregulated Bcl-2 expression, downregulated Bax expression, as well as suppressed caspase-3 activity in ARPE-19 cells exposed to H2O2. Furthermore, eupatilin pretreatment markedly enhanced phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt in ARPE-19 cells exposed to H2O2. In conclusion, our data showed that eupatilin protected against H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis through the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in ARPE-19 cells. Thus, eupatilin may be useful for the prevention or treatment of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR).
authors.affiliation: Eye Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China. Electronic address: dulei027@163.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Eye Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Eye Center, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430060, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Qiao
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000633:toxicity*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D055213:Retinal Pigment Epithelium / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; C045325:eupatilin; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide
keywords: Apoptosis; Eupatilin; Oxidative stress; Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)