Responses of Multipotent Retinal Stem Cells to IL-1 β,IL-18,or IL-17

Purpose. to investigate how multipotent retinal stem cells (rscs) isolated from mice respond to the proinflammatory signaling molecules,il-1β,il-18,and il-17a. materials and methods. rscs were cultured in a specific culture medium and were treated with these cytokines. cell viability was detected by mtt assay; ultrastructure was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy; expression of il-17rc and proapoptotic proteins was detected by immunocytochemistry and expression of il-6 and il-17a was detected by quantitative rt-pcr. as a comparison,primary mouse retinal pigment epithelium (rpe) cells were also treated with il-1β,il-18,or il-17a and analyzed for the expression of il-6 and il-17rc. results. treatment with il-1β,il-18,or il-17a decreased rsc viability in a dose-dependent fashion and led to damage in cellular ultrastructure including pyroptotic and/or necroptotic cells. il-1β and il-18 could induce proapoptotic protein expression. all treatments induced significantly higher expression of il-6 and il-17rc in both cells. however,neither il-1β nor il-18 could induce il-17a expression in rscs. conclusions. il-1β,il-18,and il-17a induce retinal cell death via pyroptosis/necroptosis and apoptosis. they also provoke proinflammatory responses in rscs. though il-1β and il-18 could not induce il-17a expression in rscs,they both increase il-17rc expression,which may mediate the effect of il-17a. © 2015 shida chen et al.