Effects of Inflammasome Activation on Secretion of Inflammatory Cytokines and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor by Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells.

Purpose: Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome has been implicated in the pathogenesis of AMD. Lipofuscin phototoxicity activates the inflammasome in RPE cells by inducing lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP). We investigated the effects of LMP-induced inflammasome activation on the secretion of inflammation-related cytokines and VEGF by RPE cells.

Light induces NLRP3 inflammasome activation in retinal pigment epithelial cells via lipofuscin-mediated photooxidative damage.

Unlabelled: Photooxidative damage and chronic innate immune activation have been implicated in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) dysfunction, a process that underlies blinding diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). To identify a potential molecular link between these mechanisms, we investigated whether lipofuscin-mediated phototoxicity activates the NLRP3 inflammasome in RPE cells in vitro. We found that blue light irradiation (dominant wavelength 448 nm, irradiance 0.