Effect of sodium ferulate on expression of BCl-2 and bax in rat lens epithelial cells

AIM: To investigate the effect of sodium ferulate on expression of apoptosis-related genes, BCl-2 and bax, in rat lens epithelial cells (LEC) injured by oxidation.METHODS: Eyes of SD rats were divided randomly into four groups: control group, hydrogen peroxide group (H₂O₂), pirenoxine sodium group (PS) and sodium ferulate group (SF). Eyes were excised and lenses were separated under operating microscope and sterilized condition. Lenses were incubated in CO₂ incubator for 24 h with 300μmol·L^-1H₂O₂ and with or rithout 5 mmol·L^-1SF. The expression of BCl-2 and Bax protein of LEC were measured and compared by tearing the LEC anterior capsule via immunohistochemical analysis.RESULTS: (1) There were BCl-2 and Bax expression in normal lenses of SD rates, BCl-2 expression was stronger than Bax. (2) BCl-2 expression decreased and Bax expression increased markedly (P<0.01),BCl-2/Bax reduced in H₂O₂ group. (3) There were up regulation of BCl-2 expression and down-regulation down of Bax expression, and BCl-2/Bax increased in SF group compared with H₂O₂ group (P<0.01). (4) The above changes were similar between PS group and SF group, but much stronger in SF group than that in PS group (P<0.01).CONCLUSION: These results show that SF regulates expression of apoptosis-related genes, BCl-2 and bax, which may be the molecular mechanism of LEC apoptosis inhibition by SF.