The effects of losartan on cytomegalovirus infection in human trabecular meshwork cells

BACKGROUND: Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been emerged as one of the causes of acute recurrent or chronic hypertensive anterior uveitis in immunocompetent. In hypertensive anterior uveitis, human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells are considered a focus of inflammation. We investigated the effects of losartan, a selective angiotensin II receptor antagonist, on CMV infection in human TM cells. METHODS: Human TM cells were infected with CMV AD169. Virus infected and mock-infected cells were treated with losartan or dexamethasone or ganciclovir with or without transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Viral DNA accumulation and host cell response were analyzed using real-time PCR. Levels of secreted TGF-β1 were measured by determining its concentration in conditioned medium using a commercially available sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. RESULTS: CMV infection significantly increased the concentrations of the secreted TGF-β1 at 3, 5, and 7 day post infection in TM cells. Treatment with dexamethasone or losartan significantly decreased the levels of TGF-β1, whereas treatment with ganciclovir did not affect TGF-β1 levels. TM cells treated with TGF-β1 along with the presence of losartan for 48 hours showed marked decrease in the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (SMA), lysyl oxidase (LOX), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), fibronectin and collagen-1A, compared with cells treated with TGF-β1 alone. CMV-infected TM cells stimulated by TGF-β1 significantly increased the expression of α-SMA and CTGF, which were attenuated by additional treatment with losartan. CONCLUSION: Losartan inhibited the expression of TGF-β1 and fibrogenic molecules in human TM cells. Thus, losartan has the potential to decrease TM fibrosis in patients with CMV-induced hypertensive anterior uveitis.