The sonic hedgehog signaling pathway is suppressed following PCB1254 exposure during retinal development.

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) has been reported to have detrimental effects on retinal development. In order to explore the role of Shh signaling in retinal development after PCB1254 exposure in vivo and in vitro, zebrafish and RGC-5 retinal cell line were used. Compared with the controls, PCB exposure inhibited proliferation and increased the apoptosis levels. The expression of Shh mRNA decreased in the PCB1254 -treated groups both in vivo and in vitro compared with that of the controls. The ptch2 mRNA expression increased in the experimental groups. The expression of gli2 mRNA decreased in the PCB1254 -treated groups. Immunofluorescence and western blotting assays confirmed that the expression of Shh proteins decreased in PCB1254 -treated groups compared with control groups. Moreover, ptch2 protein levels increased in the PCB1254 -treated groups as well as the decreased protein expressions of gli1 and gli2. These results demonstrated that Shh signaling pathway may participate in the damage of retinal development caused by PCB1254 exposure, providing evidence that eye diseases could be caused by environmental pollutants.