Objective: To investigate the intercellular communication in rabbit lens epithelial cells and effect of dexamethasone and heparin on it.
Methods: Rabbit lens epithelial cells were cultured and exposed to different concentrations of dexamethasone (10, 100, 300 mg/L), heparin (1 x 10(5), 2 x 10(5), 4 x 10(5) U/L) for 48 hours at 37 degrees C. The fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching (FRAP) was used for the analysis. The mean fluorescence recovery rate (MFRR, %/min) of the cells labelled with 6-carboxy fluorescein diacetate (CFDA) after photobleaching was measured with laser scanning cytometry ACAS Ultima.
Results: MFRR (%/min) of the cells after exposure to dexamethasone was 0.375 +/- 0.236 in the control group, 0.491 +/- 0.239 in the group of dexamethasone 10 mg/L, 0.996 +/- 0.447 in the group of dexamethasone 100 mg/L, 0.984 +/- 0.379 in the group of dexamethasone 300 mg/L, respectively (F = 26.07, P < 0.05). The MFRR after exposure of heparin was 0.375 +/- 0.236 in the control group, 0.694 +/- 0.491 in the group of heparin 1 x 10(5) U/L, 1.097 +/- 0.504 in the group of heparin 2 x 10(5) U/L, 1.082 +/- 0.501 in the group of heparin 4 x 10(5) U/L, respectively (F = 19.01, P < 0.05).
Conclusion: It is discovered that there is intercellular communication in rabbit lens epithelial cells with FRAP analysis. Dexamethasone and heparin can enhance the intercellular communication of rabbit lens epithelial cells in dose dependent manner.