| Summary: | Esculetin is a coumarin-derived compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The current study aims to evaluate the therapeutic implications of esculetin on retinal dysfunction and uncover the underlying mechanisms. <i>Tert</i>-butyl hydroperoxide (<i>t</i>-BHP) at a concentration of 300 μM was used to induce oxidative stress in human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) cells. Esculetin at concentrations below 250 μM did not cause cytotoxicity to ARPE-19 cells. Cell viability analysis confirmed that <i>t</i>-BHP induced oxidative injury of ARPE-19 cells. However, ARPE-19 cells were protected from <i>t</i>-BHP-induced oxidative injury by esculetin in a concentration-dependent manner. As a result of the TUNEL assay to confirm apoptosis, esculetin treatment reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells. Esculetin down-regulated the expression levels of Bax, Caspase-3, and PARP and up-regulated the expression level of Bcl2. Collectively, this study demonstrates that esculetin exerts potent antioxidant properties in ARPE-19 cells, inhibiting <i>t</i>-BHP-induced apoptosis under the regulation of apoptotic factors.
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