Reduced Retinal Degeneration in an Oxidative Stress Organ Culture Model through an iNOS-Inhibitor.

In retinal organ cultures, H2O2 can be used to simulate oxidative stress, which plays a role in the development of several retinal diseases including glaucoma. We investigated whether processes underlying oxidative stress can be prevented in retinal organ cultures by an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)-inhibitor. To this end, porcine retinal explants were cultivated for four and eight days. Oxidative stress was induced via 300 µM H2O2 on day one for three hours. Treatment with the iNOS-inhibitor 1400 W was applied simultaneously, remaining for 72 h. Retinal ganglion cells (RGC), bipolar and amacrine cells, apoptosis, autophagy, and hypoxia were evaluated immunohistologically and by RT-qPCR. Additionally, RGC morphology was analyzed via transmission electron microscopy. H2O2-induced RGCs loss after four days was prevented by the iNOS-inhibitor. Additionally, electron microscopy revealed a preservation from oxidative stress in iNOS-inhibitor treated retinas at four and eight days. A late rescue of bipolar cells was seen in iNOS-inhibitor treated retinas after eight days. Hypoxic stress and apoptosis almost reached the control situation after iNOS-inhibitor treatment, especially after four days. In sum, the iNOS-inhibitor was able to prevent strong H2O-induced degeneration in porcine retinas. Hence, this inhibitor seems to be a promising treatment option for retinal diseases.

iNOS-inhibitor driven neuroprotection in a porcine retina organ culture model.

Nitrite oxide plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various retinal diseases, especially when hypoxic processes are involved. This degeneration can be simulated by incubating porcine retinal explants with CoCl2 . Here, the therapeutic potential of iNOS-inhibitor 1400W was evaluated. Degeneration through CoCl2 and treatment with the 1400W were applied simultaneously to porcine retinae explants. Three groups were compared: control, CoCl2 , and CoCl2  + iNOS-inhibitor (1400W). At days 4 and 8, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), bipolar, and amacrine cells were analysed. Furthermore, the influence on the glia cells and different stress markers were evaluated. Treatment with CoCl2 resulted in a significant loss of RGCs already after 4 days, which was counteracted by the iNOS-inhibitor. Expression of HIF-1α and its downstream targets confirmed the effective treatment with 1400W. After 8 days, the CoCl2 group displayed a significant loss in amacrine cells and also a drastic reduction in bipolar cells was observed, which was prevented by 1400W. The decrease in microglia could not be prevented by the inhibitor. CoCl2 induces strong degeneration in porcine retinae by mimicking hypoxia, damaging certain retinal cell types. Treatment with the iNOS-inhibitor counteracted these effects to some extent, by preventing loss of retinal ganglion and bipolar cells. Hence, this inhibitor seems to be a very promising treatment for retinal diseases.

Multiplex PCR method for detection of three Aeromonas enterotoxin genes.

A novel multiplex PCR method using three sets of specific primers was developed for the detection of the cytotoxic (act), heat-labile (alt), and heat-stable (ast) enterotoxin genes in Aeromonas spp. This assay was used to characterize 35 reference strains as well as 537 food-borne isolates. A total of seven gene pattern combinations were encountered, including act, alt, act/alt, act/alt/ast, act/alt/148-bp amplicon, alt/ast, and alt/148-bp amplicon. The alt gene was detected with 34 reference strains (97%) and occurred singly in 14% of these strains. The frequency of occurrence of the act/alt, act/alt/ast, and alt/ast gene patterns in reference strains was 14 (40%), 2 (6%), and 2 (6%), respectively. An unpredicted amplicon was detected in 11 reference strains (31%). Characterization of this amplicon showed that its size was 148 bp, as generated by the AHLF and AHLR primers, and that it uniquely aligned with the Aeromonas salmonicida A449 genome sequence (GenBank accession number CP000644). This amplicon was named Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida hypothetical protein amplicon (AssHPA). In the 537 food-borne isolates, the act and alt genes were most dominant and were detected in 349 (65%) and 452 (84%) isolates, respectively, either alone or in combinations. The act and alt genes occurred singly in 30 (6%) and 128 (24%) of these strains, respectively. The act/alt gene pattern occurred in 315 isolates (59%), whereas the ast gene was always linked to strains exhibiting the act/alt/ast and alt/ast gene combinations in 4 (0.7%) and 5 (0.9%) isolates, respectively. The uniplex amplification of three enterotoxin genes separately confirms the specificity of the unique selected primers. This multiplex PCR is rapid and simple and can detect the presence of three Aeromonas enterotoxin genes in a single assay.