Qin Dong, Jin Xuemin, Jiang Yanrong
Henan Eye Institute, Henan Provincial Eye Hospital, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450003, P.R. China.
Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100044, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2020 Mar;19(3):2353-2359. doi: 10.3892/etm.2020.8463. Epub 2020 Jan 21.
Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is characterised by the contraction and growth of fibrotic membranes on the retina and within the vitreous body. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, a major cellular component of the fibrotic membrane, is one of the cell types that have been previously reported to associate with PVR pathogenesis. During PVR, RPE cells undergo increased cell proliferation, migration and the secretion of extracellular matrix molecules, such as fibronectin and type I collagen. A variety of cytokines and growth factors are involved in the formation of the fibrotic membrane. Although gremlin has been reported to serve an important role in the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in PVR, the relationship between gremlin and the expression of profibrogenic factors in human RPE cells remains unclear. In the present study, gremlin promoted RPE cell proliferation and the expression of type I collagen and fibronectin. In addition, knocking down gremlin expression by siRNA significantly suppressed the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1- and TGF-β2-induced expression of type I collagen and fibronectin in RPE cells. These findings suggest that gremlin may serve an important role in the development of PVR.
增殖性玻璃体视网膜病变（PVR）的特征是视网膜和玻璃体内纤维化膜的收缩和生长。视网膜色素上皮（RPE）细胞是纤维化膜的主要细胞成分之一，是先前报道的与PVR发病机制相关的细胞类型之一。在PVR过程中，RPE细胞的细胞增殖、迁移以及细胞外基质分子（如纤连蛋白和I型胶原）的分泌增加。多种细胞因子和生长因子参与纤维化膜的形成。尽管据报道gremlin在PVR的上皮-间质转化调节中起重要作用，但gremlin与人类RPE细胞中促纤维化因子表达之间的关系仍不清楚。在本研究中，gremlin促进了RPE细胞增殖以及I型胶原和纤连蛋白的表达。此外，通过小干扰RNA（siRNA）敲低gremlin表达可显著抑制转化生长因子（TGF）-β1和TGF-β2诱导的RPE细胞中I型胶原和纤连蛋白的表达。这些发现表明，gremlin可能在PVR的发展中起重要作用。
