In:
Alternatives to Laboratory Animals, SAGE Publications, Vol. 25, No. 3 ( 1997-05), p. 297-302
Abstract:
The anticancer drug tamoxifen is widely used in breast cancer therapy. Tamoxifen has been reported to cause ocular toxicity and impairment of vision in epidemiological studies. To study the possible role of an excitotoxic mechanism in the ocular toxicity of tamoxifen, we investigated the effect of tamoxifen on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) glutamate uptake in vitro. RPE, a layer of cells between photoreceptors and choroidal capillaries, contributes to the regulation of the concentration of the major excitatory amino acid, glutamate, in the sub-retinal space. Dysfunction in RPE glutamate uptake can lead to accumulation of extracellular glutamate and can cause various excitotoxic effects in the retina. The study was conducted by using cultured pig RPE cells. Six different tamoxifen citrate concentrations, ranging from lμM to 100μM, and [ 3 H]-L-glutamate were added to the culture medium. To specify the glutamate uptake, 1mM dinitrophenol was added and a Na + -free culture was used. Due to the anti-oestrogenic character of tamoxifen, the possible effect of β-oestradiol on the glutamate uptake of RPE was also examined. The results show that glutamate uptake by RPE cells was reduced in the presence of tamoxifen, and that the reduction was dose-dependent. These results suggest that tamoxifen exposure could lead to the extracellular accumulation of glutamate. Disturbances in glutamate uptake can cause eye toxicity via an excitotoxic mechanism. The glutamate uptake of RPE cells was reduced under Na + -free conditions and was also reduced in the presence of dinitrophenol.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0261-1929
,
2632-3559
DOI:
10.1177/026119299702500310
Language:
English
Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Publication Date:
1997
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2390905-5
SSG:
12,22
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