Jpn. J. Pharmacol. 79 (3), 359-368 (1999)


Natriuretic Peptide Receptors, NPR-A and NPR-B, in Cultured Rabbit Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells

Yoshito Fujiseki (1,3), Kyoko Omori (1), Koichiro Omori (2), Yoshito Mikami (3), Junko Suzukawa (1), Gaku Okugawa (1), Masanobu Uyama (3) and Chiyoko Inagaki (1,*)

Departments of (1) Pharmacology, (2) Physiology and (3) Ophthalmology, Kansai Medical University, Moriguchi, Osaka 570-8506, Japan
(*) To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Abstract: We tried to detect natriuretic peptide (NP) receptor (NPR-A and NPR-B) mRNAs in cultured rabbit retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and examined the regulation of their expression in relation to subretinal fluid absorption or RPE cell proliferation. RPE cells from 2 - 4 passages were grown to confluence on microporous membranes and analyzed for levels of expression of receptor mRNAs by quantitative RT-PCR and Northern blotting. The expression of NPR-B mRNA was approximately tenfold higher than that of NPR-A mRNA. The expression of NPR-A mRNA was not affected by treatments that may change subretinal fluid transport, while that of NPR-B mRNA was inhibited by transmitters involved in light- and dark-adaptation such as dopamine and melatonin. Expression of NPR-B mRNA was also suppressed by platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor-beta. Furthermore, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), ligands for NPR-A and B, respectively, inhibited the proliferation of RPE cells, as analyzed by incorporation of [3H]thymidine. These findings suggest that ANP may be involved in constitutive absorption of subretinal fluid and that NPs form an important regulatory system of proliferation in RPE cells.


Keywords: Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), Natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A), Natriuretic peptide receptor-B (NPR-B)


Copyright© The Japanese Pharmacological Society 1999

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