Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 8 pp 10866—10890
Pharmacologic activation of autophagy without direct mTOR inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for treating dry macular degeneration
Figure 5. FLBZ alleviates UAM-induced senescence and tight-junction disruption. (A) (Top) FLBZ reduces senescence when fed concurrently with oxOS during UAM accumulation. (Bottom) FLBZ is unable to reverse established senescence induced by already accumulated UAM. FLBZ is fed daily together with oxOS for 20 days in a month (top) or after one month of 20 oxOS feedings to induce UAM buildup (bottom). DMSO as vehicle control. Senescence measured by β-galactosidase activity (blue). Scale bar: 50 μm. n=6. (B) While FLBZ does not reduce senescence when added to culture after UAM accumulation has already occurred, it does improve RPE cell health, as assessed by tight-junction integrity (TEER measured after 20 FLBZ feedings) (right). Left graph n=6, right graph n=12. ns p > 0.05, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001.