Inhibition effect of verapamil on surum induced proliferation of rabbit retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro

Objective: To investigate the effect of verapamil on surum induced proliferation of rabbit pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and to search for simple and effective medicine on PVR. Methods: The rabbit RPE cells (passage 2 to 5) were cultured with various concentrations of verapamil in DMEM. The rates of inhibition were respectively determined by MTT method, and the cell viability was estimated by trypan blue exclusion test. Results: Verapamil at all given concentrations significantly inhibited the serum-induced proliferation of RPE cells. At concentrations of 80 mg/L and lower, it had no effect on cell viability. The IC₅₀ of verapamil was 16.7659 mg/L.Conclusion:Verapamil significantly inhibits RPE cell promising drug on PVR.