Effect of thalidomide, octreotide, and prednisolone on the migrationand proliferation of RPE cells in vitro.

PURPOSE. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) isinvolved in the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. The purposeof this study was to assess the effect of thalidomide, octreotide, and prednisoloneon the proliferation and migration of bovine RPE cells in vitro . METHODS. The migration assay was performed in double-chamber-wells separatedby a membrane filter with 8 μm pores. Cells were allowed to migrate verticallyfor 7 hr, afterwards the cells on both filtersides were fixed, stained, andthe migrated cells were counted. To examine RPE proliferation, bovine RPEcells were seeded subconfluently followed by an incubation with octreotide,thalidomide or prednisolone in a concentration gradient for 24 hr. Stimulationor inhibition of DNA synthesis was measured by [[sup 3] H]-thymidine incorporation.Statistical analysis was performed with the paired student's t-test. RESULTS. Statistically significant (p < 0.05) inhibition of RPE cellproliferation was measured for thalidomide at a concentration of 10–50 μg/ml,for octreotide at a concentration of 5 × 10[sup -4] and 5 ×10[sup -5] M, and for prednisolone at a concentration of 250 and 500 μg/mlas compared to the negative control. RPE cell migration was significantly(p < 0.05) inhibited by thalidomide at a concentration of 10 μg/ml,by octreotide at a concentration of 5 × 10[sup -5] M, and alsoby prednisolone at a concentration of 500 μg/ml as compared to the negativecontrol. CONCLUSIONS. Although the main effect of thalidomide, octreotide, and prednisolonewhen treating patients with choroidal neovascular membranes is probably relatedto the inhibition of angiogenesis it should be kept in mind that these substancesmay additionally inhibit RPE proliferation and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]