Figure 3. hRPE cells differ in response to acute and chronic oxidative stress.
hRPE cells were exposed to 500μM TBHP for 1 and 5 days. qPCR for drusen-related transcripts was controlled with S18 ribosomal RNA and GAPDH as housekeeping genes. None of the transcripts assessed were upregulated by hRPE after 1 day (n=4) of TBHP compared to controls. However, hRPE significantly upregulated 11 drusen-related transcripts following 5 days (n=6) of TBHP compared to hRPE treated for 1 day (Welsh's t-test, *, p<0.05; **, p<0.001). Error bars represent standard error of the mean (SEM).