[Effect of RU486 on metabolism of glycosaminoglycans in the cultured calf trabecular meshwork cells].

The trabecular meshwork from newborn bovine eyes was used for cell culture and subculture to the third passage. Then the concentrations of RU486, a corticosteroid antagonist, in the medium were made to be 50, 100 and 200 micrograms/ml and 3H-glycosamine was introduced as the radioactive precursor. After extraction and purification, an aliquot of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) was used for cellulose acetate electrophoresis, sequential degradation by different enzymes and radioactivity determination by scintillation counting to determine the total amount of GAGs and the amounts of constituents, such as hyaluronic acid (HA), etc. In the control group, the total amount of GAGs was 980 DPM/micrograms cell prot (disintegration per minute/micrograms cell protein) and HA accounted for 17.8%, while in the medium of 50 micrograms/ml and 100 micrograms/ml RU486, HA was increased to 50.1% and 46.1%, respectively. In the medium of 200 micrograms/ml RU486, the total amount of GAGs was decreased to 695 DPM/micrograms cell prot. The results were consistent with the theory of pharmacology and pharmacodynamics. It is possible that the corticosteroid antagonist can be used to reverse the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma.