Dexamethasone induced proliferation of cultured retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Dexamethasone (DEX) is a glucocorticoid that is widely used after vitreoretinal surgery and may have mitogenic properties. This study was initiated to determine if human cultured retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells express glucocorticoid receptor and proliferate in response to DEX stimulation. Glucocorticoid receptor mRNA was detected in RPE cells by means of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. To determine the effect of DEX on RPE cell proliferation in vitro, we cultured human RPE cells with various concentrations for DEX for 5 days and determined the effects on cell number and incorporation of tritiated thymidine. DEX treatment with a DEX dose of 1 microgram/ml in the presence or absence of serum resulted in a maximal 2-3 times increase in cell number. Autoradiography after thymidine incorporation revealed a greater than 2-fold increase in incorporating cells at this same dose. These results indicate that DEX causes cultured human RPE cells to proliferate and suggest that it may have a growth factor-like action.