Cytoprotective Effect of Astaxanthin in a Model of Normal Intraocular Pressure Glaucoma.

Cytoprotective Effect of Astaxanthin in a Model of Normal Intraocular Pressure Glaucoma. J Ophthalmol. 2020;2020:9539681 Authors: Kikuchi K, Dong Z, Shinmei Y, Murata M, Kanda A, Noda K, Harada T, Ishida S Abstract Glaucoma is characterized by axonal degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and apoptotic death of their cell bodies. Lowering intraocular pressure is currently the only way to treat glaucoma, but it is often insufficient to inhibit the progression of the disease. Glaucoma is a multifactorial disease, and the involvement of oxidative stress has recently received much attention. In the present study, we investigated the cytoprotective effect of astaxanthin (AST) on RGC degeneration using a normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) mouse model, which lacks the glutamate/aspartate transporter (Glast) and demonstrates spontaneous RGC and optic nerve degeneration without elevated intraocular pressure. Three-week-old Glast± mice were given intraperitoneal injections of AST at 10, 30, or 60 mg/kg/day or vehicle alone, and littermate control mice were given vehicle alone for 14 days, respectively. Five weeks after birth, the number of RGCs was counted in paraffin sections of retinal tissues stained with hematoxylin and eosin. We also used a retrograde labeling technique to quantify the number of RGCs. Additionally, the phosphorylated (p) IκB/total IκB ratio and the 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) were measured in retinal tissues. The number...
Source: Journal of Ophthalmology - Category: Opthalmology Tags: J Ophthalmol Source Type: research