FIGURE 4.

Oxidative modification of TE promotes coacervation, but decreases cross-linking. A, oxidized and unoxidized TE was dissolved in 50 mm Tris, 150 mm NaCl, and kinetics of coacervation was monitored at 400 nm. B, ARPE cells were maintained at confluency for 8–10 days and then incubated with 100 μg/ml unmodified or ONOO⁻-modified TE for 16 h. Cross-linking of TE was determined by desmosine analysis. Desmosine was quantified by radioimmunoassay and total protein was determined by amino acid analysis. Results are displayed as the mean ratio of pmol of desmosines/mg protein of at least five independent experiments ± S.E. *, p < 0.05 compared with unmodified TE.