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Updated: May 14, 2026

Blue-hazard-free Candlelight OLED
Published on: March 19, 2017
Protective effects of carotenoids against blue light induced-cellular damage in human retinal pigment epithelium
Jong Hoon Won1, Dmitri Sitnikov1, Jina Hong2
1Amway Corporation, Amway I&S, 7575 Fulton St E, Ada, MI 49355 USA.
Abstract:
The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is constantly exposed to visible light, including blue light (BL) that creates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are harmful to DNA and induce cellular senescence. Carotenoids are recognized for their antioxidant properties, but their protective effect on DNA repair and cellular senescence under BL induced oxidative stress has not been evaluated. After BL irradiation, the positive senescence-associated-β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) staining, and gene expression of p16 and p21 were upregulated in ARPE-19 cells. Pretreatment with carotenoids reduced ROS, p-H2A.X nuclear foci, and SA-β-gal positive cells induced by BL irradiation. Furthermore, pretreatment with carotenoids reduced the secretion of IL-6 and VEGF triggered by BL. Since increased senescent cells and secretion of IL-6 and VEGF are involved in age-related macular degeneration pathogenesis, our results support that carotenoid supplementation has a potential role in protecting the eyes from the deleterious effects of excessive BL exposure.
Supplementary Information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-024-01757-z.
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