Thioredoxin-like 6 protects retinal cell line from photooxidative damage by upregulating NF-κB activity

Apoptosis is the common pathway to photoreceptor cell death in many eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration which affects more than 8 million individuals in the United States alone. RdCVF, a truncated mouse thioredoxin is specifically expressed by rod photoreceptor cells and prevents the apoptosis of cone cells. However the protective mechanism of RdCVF and the implications of its human homologue, thioredoxin-like 6 (TXNL6), on the apoptosis of retinal cells remain unknown. In this study, we examined the function of TXNL6 and investigated its mechanism of protection using a cone photoreceptor cell line, 661W. We found that the photooxidative stress-induced degradation of NF-κB proteins is rescued by overexpression of TXNL6, which enabled the NF-κB transactivation activity. Furthermore, the overexpression of TXNL6 rescued the photooxidative stress-induced apoptosis of 661W cells. Interestingly, this protective effect was significantly blocked by NF-κB specific inhibitors demonstrating that TXNL6 exerts its protective effect against apoptosis via NF-κB. Taken together, our study shows that the TXNL6 probably protects retinal cells from photooxidative damage-induced apoptosis via upregulation of NF-κB activity. The identification of TXNL6 and the demonstration of its protective mechanism offer new insights into treatment possibilities for photoreceptor cell degradation.