RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The role of clusterin in retinal development and free radical damage JF British Journal of Ophthalmology JO Br J Ophthalmol FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. SP 1541 OP 1546 DO 10.1136/bjo.2007.115220 VO 91 IS 11 A1 Jeong Hun Kim A1 Jin Hyoung Kim A1 Young Suk Yu A1 Bon-Hong Min A1 Kyu-Won Kim YR 2007 UL http://bjo.bmj.com/content/91/11/1541.abstract AB Aim: To assess the role of clusterin in retinal vascular development and in free radical damage in vivo and in vitro.Methods: The expression of clusterin, von Willebrand factor (vWF), flk-1, heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) was examined in the retinas of developing mice and oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mice by immunofluorescence staining and western blot analysis. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-pretreated human retinal endothelial cells (HREC) and astrocytes were cultured in the presence or absence of exogenous clusterin, and then the cell viability was measured using the MTT assay and DAPI staining.Results: Clusterin was expressed mainly in the inner retina and co-localised with vWF, an endothelial cell marker. During the mouse developmental process, clusterin expression was decreased, which was similar to the expression of flk-1, vWF and Hsp27. Furthermore, in the OIR model, clusterin expression changed in a similar way to both vWF and Hsp27. Under hypoxic conditions, clusterin expression increased in HREC and astrocytes. In H2O2-pretreated HREC and astrocytes, clusterin protected against apoptotic cell death.Conclusions: These results suggest that clusterin is associated with protection from apoptotic retinal cell death in retinal development and in free radical damage.