Inhibition of Zymosan-Induced Inflammatory Factors Expression by ATRA Nanostructured Lipid Carriers

Purpose. the study aimed to evaluate the effect of all-trans retinoic acid-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (atra-nlcs) on the zymosan-induced expression of the cytokines il-4,il-10,and ifn-γ and the matrix metalloproteinases/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (mmps/timps) and tlr2 in rabbit corneal fibroblasts (rcfs). methods. atra-nlcs were prepared by emulsification. rcfs were isolated and harvested after four to seven passages in monolayer culture. cytokine release (il-4,il-10,and ifn-γ) induced by zymosan was analyzed by cytokine release assay,reverse transcription,and real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) analysis detection. mmp-1,mmp-3,and mmp-13,timp-1 and timp-2,and tlr2 expression were analyzed by immunoblotting. results. atra-nlcs were resistant to light and physically stable,and the average size of the atra-nlcs was 200 nm. atra-nlcs increased the zymosan-induced release of il-4 and il-10 and decreased the release of ifn-γ by rcfs. atra-nlcs decreased the levels of tlr2 and mmps/timps above. conclusions. atra may be a potent anti-inflammatory agent for the therapy of fungal keratitis (fk). � 2016 hongyan zhou et al.