Protein expression of nucleolar protein 12 in the retina and its implication in protection of retina from UV irradiation damage

Nucleolar protein 12 (NOL12), one of the nucleolar proteins which are primarily expressed in the nucleolus and play key roles in RNA metabolism, cell proliferation, cell cycle, and cell survival, is widely expressed in various species and multiple organs. Although it has been reported that the mRNA of Drosophila NOL12 homolog viriato is expressed in the eyes of Drosophila, the protein expression of NOL12 in mammalian eyes remains to be elucidated. In this study, we showed through immunohistochemistry that NOL12 was present in the rat retina, with predominant distribution in the cytoplasm of the retinal neuronal cells. In the human retinoblastoma cell line WERI-Rb1, we found that altering NOL12 expression led to a change in WERI-Rb1 cell viability. Knocking down NOL12 expression decreased cell viability. In contrast, overexpressing NOL12 increased cell viability. Furthermore, increasing NOL12 expression inhibited ultraviolet (UV)-induced Apoptosis. These findings demonstrated that NOL12 may play an important protective role in retinal cells. In the WERI-Rb1 cells exposed to UV irradiation, we detected that NOL12 was degraded, but this degradation could be attenuated by a pan-Caspase inhibitor. Notably, the inhibitory effect of NOL12 against UV-induced Apoptosis could be restrained by increasing the expression of ATR serine/threonine kinase (ATR), a kinase that, when activated by severe DNA damage, can result in Apoptosis. We also found that upregulating NOL12 inhibited the activation of ATR caused by UV irradiation. Additionally, inhibiting ATR activity reduced Apoptosis resulting from both silencing NOL12 expression and UV exposure. Thus, NOL12 may protect against UV irradiation-induced retinal damage by inhibiting ATR activity.