Endothelin-Mediated Changes in Gene Expression in Isolated Purified Rat Retinal Ganglion Cells

A growing body of evidence suggests that the vasoactive peptides endothelins (ETs) and their receptors (primarily the ETB receptor) are contributors to neurodegeneration in glaucoma. However, ET’s actions in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to determine ETs effects on gene expression in primary RGCs. Primary RGCs treated with 100nM of ET-1, ET-2 or ET-3 for 24 hours was used as cell model to investigation the role of endothelins in gene expression. Primary RGCs isolated from rat pups were treated with 100nM of ET-1, ET-2 or ET-3 for 24 hours. Total RNA was extracted followed by cDNA synthesis. Changes in gene expression in RGCs was detected using Affymetrix Rat Genome 230 2.0 microarray and categorized by DAVID analysis.