Abstract
Danio rerio
retinal pigmented epithelial (
Dr
RPE) cell line, derived from the RPE tissue, was established and characterized. The cells were able to grow at a wide range of temperatures from 25°C to 32°C in Leibovitz's L-15 medium. The
Dr
RPE cell line consists of epithelial cells with a diameter of 15–19 μm. The cell line was characterized by mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene, immunocytochemical analysis, and karyotyping.
Dr
RPE cells treated with 10 μM of all-
trans
-retinol for 24 h readily formed lipid droplets.
Dr
RPE cells were irradiated with narrowband ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation at different time periods of 0, 10, 20, and 40 min. The cells were subsequently examined for changes in morphology, cell viability, phagocytotic activity, mitochondrial distribution, nuclei morphology, generation of reactive oxygen species, and expression of apoptotic-related genes p53 and Cas3 by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrate that UV-B radiation can cause a considerable decrease in
Dr
RPE cell viability as well as in phagocytotic activity. In addition, the results demonstrate that UV-B radiation can induce the degradation of mitochondria and DNA in cultured
Dr
RPE cells.