2. Academic Validation
  3. Preservation of retinal morphology and functions in royal college surgeons rat by nilvadipine, a Ca(2+) antagonist

Preservation of retinal morphology and functions in royal college surgeons rat by nilvadipine, a Ca(2+) antagonist

  • Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2002 Apr;43(4):919-26.
Hitoshi Yamazaki 1,  Hiroshi Ohguro,  Tadao Maeda,  Ikuyo Maruyama,  Yoshiko Takano,  Tomomi Metoki,  Mitsuru Nakazawa,  Hajime Sawada,  Mari Dezawa
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Department of Ophthalmology, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.
PMID: 11923229
Abstract

Purpose: The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat is the most extensively studied animal model for understanding the molecular pathology in inherited retinal degeneration, such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacologic effects of several Ca(2+) antagonists on the retinal degeneration of RCS rats.

Methods: Several Ca(2+) antagonists, diltiazem, nicardipine, nilvadipine, and nifedipine, were intraperitoneally administered and retinal morphology and functions analyzed.

Results: Among the Ca(2+) antagonists, only intraperitoneally administered nilvadipine preserved retinal morphology and electroretinogram responses in RCS rats during the initial stage of retinal degeneration. Studies using immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR, and Western blot analysis revealed significant enhancement of rhodopsin kinase and alphaA-crystallin expression and suppression of Caspase 1 and 2 expression in the retina of nilvadipine-treated rats.

Conclusions: These data suggest that nilvadipine is beneficial for the preservation of photoreceptor cells in RCS rats and can be used to treat some patients with RP.

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