FIGURE 1.

Changes in mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in response to ocular hypertension and SNC-121 treatment. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was raised by 2.0 M hypertonic saline injection followed by δ-opioid receptor agonist (1 mg/kg; i. p injections) treatment for 7 days, once a day. The retinas were collected at day 7, post hypertonic saline injection and mRNA was analyzed for IL-1β (A), TNF-α (B), FAS (C), IL-6 (D), LIF (E), and IFN-γ (F) using cDNA that was synthesized from 1 µg total RNA. The relative changes in mRNA levels were measured by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) using primers specific for each gene as indicated in Table 1. The qRT-PCR data was normalized using ß-actin gene expression as an internal control. The relative expression was calculated based on the comparative threshold cycle (2^−ΔΔCt) method. Bar graph represents mean data ±SEM. OH Eyes; ocular hypertensive eyes; OH Eyes + SNC-121, ocular hypertensive eyes with SNC-121 treatment. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001; n = 4–9. In this experiment “n” represent a biological replicate.