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. 2018 Jun;62(3):366-369.
doi: 10.20945/2359-3997000000044. Epub 2018 May 17.

Graves' ophthalmopathy: low-dose dexamethasone reduces retinoic acid receptor-alpha gene expression in orbital fibroblasts

Sarah Santiloni Cury  1 , Miriane Oliveira  1 , Maria Teresa Síbio  1 , Sueli Clara  1 , Renata De Azevedo Melo Luvizotto  1 , Sandro Conde  2 , Edson Nacib Jorge  3 , Vania Dos Santos Nunes  1 , Célia Regina Nogueira  1 , Gláucia Maria Ferreira da Silva Mazeto  1
Affiliations

Graves' ophthalmopathy: low-dose dexamethasone reduces retinoic acid receptor-alpha gene expression in orbital fibroblasts

Sarah Santiloni Cury et al. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disease that leads to ocular proptosis caused by fat accumulation and inflammation, and the main treatment is corticosteroid therapy. Retinoid acid receptor-alpha (RARα) seems to be associated with inflammation and adipocyte differentiation. This study aimed to assess the effect of glucocorticoid treatment on orbital fibroblasts of GO patient treated or not with different glucocorticoid doses.

Materials and methods: Orbital fibroblasts collected during orbital decompression of a female patient with moderately severe/severe GO were cultivated and treated with 10 nM and 100 nM dexamethasone (Dex). rRARα gene expression in the treated and untreated cells was then compared.

Results: Fibroblast RARα expression was not affected by 100 nM Dex. On the other hand, RARα expression was 24% lower in cells treated with 10 nM Dex (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Orbital fibroblasts from a GO patient expressed the RARα gene, which was unaffected by higher, but decreased with lower doses of glucocorticoid.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: no potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Effect of 10 nM and 100 nM dexamethasone on retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) mRNA in orbital fibroblasts from a patient with Graves’ ophthalmopathy. The experiment was performed in triplicate. Data were reported as mean and standard deviation. ANOVA was used in conjunction with Tukey's test (p < 0.05).
ns: not significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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