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Editors Selection IGR 15-4

Basic Research: Senescence of TM cells by TGF-beta2

Comment by Tina Wong on:

26956 TGF-{beta}2 induces senescence-associated changes in human trabecular meshwork cells., Yu AL; Birke K; Moriniere J et al., Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 2010; 51: 5718-5723

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Yu et al. (1529) report in their study the role of TGF-β2 on inducing trabecular meshwork cell senescence and its possible contribution to the development of POAG. The expression of senescence- associated enzyme β galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) in cultured TM cells exposed to TGF-β2 was investigated, as well as the presence of biomarkers of senescence, namely SM-22 and osteonectin (SPARC). The authors clearly demonstrate an increase in TM cell senescence with TGF-β2 which was attenuated with pre-incubation with the antioxidant factors Coenzyme Q and ascorbic acid, thus confirming an important role of the presence of TGF-β2 in inducing TM cell senescence. It would be interesting to follow-up from this study with a longer period of exposure to TGF-β2, given that glaucoma is a chronic disorder, the effect of prolong exposure to TGF-β2 and the expression levels of the biomarkers, SM-22 and SPARC on TM cell senescence may change with increasing exposure time.

The study is an important one, which sheds more light into our unraveling the ageing changes that occur in the development of open-angle glaucoma. However, from the results reported, more questions are raised that need to be answered about the exact role of TGF-β2 on TM cell senescence and therefore its contribution to the development of POAG. TGF-β2 is a complex growth factor, which has varying effects on cell behavior depending on its concentration and on which cell type. Therefore, although its role in TM cell senescence is clearly demonstrated in cell culture, the significance of TGF-β2 in driving the disease process in humans needs to be further clarified.

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