Purpose: To select effective drugs against cellular proliferation in the vitreous. Methods: Cyclosporin A (0. 125mg/l - 4.0mg/l) was added to cultures of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with or without macrophage - conditioned medium (MCM) . Proliferation rate of the cells was measured with (3H) - thymidine incorporation and liquid scintillation techniques on days 3 and 5.Results: Cyclosporin A at a dosages of 0. 125mg/l had a slight inhibition on human RPE cells proliferation (-3.8%-4.1%, P>0.05).Cyclosporin A at a dose ranging from 0.25mg/l to 4.0mg/l inhibited cellular proliferation effectively and in a dose - dependent manner (8.7% -95.1%, P<0.05 r=0.94, P<0.001) with its ID50 of 1.49mg/l. In the culture of RPE with MCM, the inhibition on day 5 was more effective than that on day 3. Conclusion : Cyclosporin A had an effective inhibition on human RPE cell proliferation and it may be of potential use clinically. Eye science 1998; 14 : 41 - 44.
Zhaoyan Wang, Yannian Hui, Ming HuEye Center, Xijing Hospital, 4th Military Medical University, Xian 710032 , China