Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Characterization of Vascular Morphology of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration by Indocyanine Green Angiography
Published on: August 11, 2023
Indocyanine green induces apoptosis in human retinal pigment epithelial cells
Kourous A Rezai1, Lili Farrokh-Siar, J Terry Ernest
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Chicago, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC-2114, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. karezaei@yahoo.com
Purpose:
To examine whether indocyanine green (ICG) dye induces apoptosis in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells.
Design:
Laboratory investigation.
Methods:
Pure cultures of human RPE cells were isolated. Retinal pigment epithelial cells were incubated with different concentrations of ICG dye (1 mg/ml, 5 mg/ml, or 20 mg/ml) for 30 minutes. The rate of RPE cell apoptosis was assessed with Annexin V-FITC staining and propidium iodide (PI) by flow cytometry.
Results:
Retinal pigment epithelial cells maintained their monolayer morphology after incubation with ICG dye. However, ICG induced a statistically significant amount of apoptosis in RPE cells at all the concentrations (1 mg/ml, 5 mg/ml, and 20 mg/ml) after 30 minutes of incubation (P <.05). The solvent solution alone (without the ICG dye) did not induce any significant apoptosis in RPE cells, when compared with culture medium.
Conclusions:
The incubation of RPE cells with ICG dye increased the number of apoptotic RPE cells in vitro. Our findings indicate that the decision over the intravitreal application of ICG dye needs to be made with caution.
More Related Videos
10:24Detecting Abnormalities in Choroidal Vasculature in a Mouse Model of Age-related Macular Degeneration by Time-course Indocyanine Green Angiography
Published on: February 19, 2014
12:06Optic Nerve Transection: A Model of Adult Neuron Apoptosis in the Central Nervous System
Published on: May 12, 2011