BACKGROUND: Oxidative damage to the retinal pigment epithelium might be involved in the pathogenesis of age related macular degeneration. Thus antioxidative protection represents a rationale for a causative therapy or prophylaxis. The aim of the present study is to evaluate antioxidative properties of vitamin C and pyruvate at retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells exposed to oxidative stress. METHODS: The ability of vitamin C and pyruvate to quench hydroxyl radicals was tested using the di-hydro-rhodamine (DHR) assay. Cells of the human RPE cell line ARPE-19 were exposed for 8 min to hydroxyl radicals generated by the Fenton reaction from 2.25 mM H2O2 and 30 microM Fe3+ -nitrilo-tri-acetate. This was done in the absence and presence of 0.3-3.0 mM pyruvate and vitamin C, respectively. Cell survival was analysed by vitality staining (life-dead-assay) and expressed as cell survival ratio. A survival ratio
