Blood–retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown, the early hallmark of diabetic retinopathy (DR), is thought to depend on retinal inflammation and cell damage. The proinflammatory factor interleukin-1β (IL-1β) was demonstrated to cause inflammation as well as cell apoptosis during the process of BRB breakdown. This study extensively evaluated the protective effect of puerarin, a major active component extracted from the traditional herb Radix puerariae, against IL-1β-induced cell dysfunction in TR-iBRB2 cells, a retinal capillary endothelial cell line.
TR-iBRB2 cells were pretreated with IL-1β (10 ng/ml) for 24 h and then exposed to puerarin (0, 10, 25, and 50 μM) for another 24 h. Leukocyte endothelial adhesion was assessed through a cell-based assay using lymphoblastoid cells. Cell apoptosis was evaluated with flow cytometry, and the expression of adhesion molecules and apoptosis-related molecules was assessed with western blot analysis.