Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of taurodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) in inhibiting apoptosis of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (hRMECs) induced by high glucose (HG). Methods hRMECs were divided into control group, HG group (30 mol/L glucose induced cells for 24 hours), L-TUDCA, M-TUDCA, H-TUDCA groups (HG+1, 10, 100 μmol/L TUDCA)and TUDCA+ML385 group (HG+100 μmol/L TUDCA+5 μmol/L Nrf2 inhibitor ML385). CCK8 method was used to detect hRMECs proliferation. Transwell experiment was used to detect hRMECs migration. Flow cytometry was used to detect hRMECs apoptosis. ELISA was used to detect the level of oxidative stress factors in cell supernatant. The expression of Keap1, Nrf2, and HO-1 proteins in hRMECs was checked by Western blot. Results The A₄₅₀ value, migration number, GSH, SOD, Nrf2 and HO-1 in the HG group were all lower than those in the control group, while the apoptosis rate, ROS, MDA, and Keap1 were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05). The A₄₅₀ value, migration number, GSH, SOD,Nrf2,and HO-1 in the L-TUDCA group, M-TUDCA group, and H-TUDCA group were higher than those in the HG group, while the apoptosis rate, ROS, MDA, and Keap1 were lower than those in the HG group (P＜0.05). The A₄₅₀ value, migration number, GSH, SOD, Nrf2, and HO-1 in the TUDCA+ML385 group were lower than those in the H-TUDCA group, while the apoptosis rate, ROS, and MDA were higher than those in the H-TUDCA group(P＜0.05). Conclusions TUDCA can inhibit HG-induced hRMECs apoptosis and Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway is potentially be involved in this process.

Key words: ursodeoxycholic acid, high glucose, human retinal microvascular endothelial cell, apoptosis