Effect of adiponectin on expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and pigment epithelium-derived factor: An in vitro study

AIM: This study was carried out to identify the role of adiponectin (APN) in modulating the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF) in relation to ocular angiogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human retinal pigment epithelial cell lines (ARPE-19) were cultured in Dulbeco's minimum essential medium with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and exposed to varying concentrations of recombinant adiponectin (5–5 ng/ml) for 1 h. Analysis of VEGF and PEDF mRNA was done by reverse transcriptase and further quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. VEGF and PEDF protein expression were studied using enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Unpaired Student's t-test was used to analyze the significance. P < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS: ARPE cells exposed to APN showed decreased expression of VEGF mRNA, protein whereas PEDF protein is unaltered and PEDF mRNA was increased. CONCLUSION: Our in vitro study on ARPE exposed to APN showed a negative correlation with VEGF levels. Thus indicating the protective role for APN in angiogenesis-related diseases.