Shihu Yeguang Pill protects against bright light-induced photoreceptor degeneration in part through suppressing photoreceptor apoptosis.

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomédecine & Pharmacothérapie
Hanhan WuYu Chen

Abstract

Photoreceptor cells are first-order retinal neurons that directly contribute to the formation of vision. Photoreceptor degeneration is the primary cause of vision impairment during the course of retinopathies such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, for which photoreceptor-targeted therapies are currently unavailable. Shihu Yeguang Pill (SYP), a classic formula in traditional Chinese medicine, has a long histology of clinical application for the treatment of a wide range of retinopathies in China. However, whether SYP is pharmacological effective at protecting photoreceptor cells is unclear. The current study thus directly addressed the pharmacological implications of SYP in photoreceptor degeneration in a mouse model characterized by bright light-induced retinal degeneration. Non-invasive full-retinal assessment was carried out to evaluate the effect of SYP on the retinal structure and function through optical coherence tomography and electroretinography, respectively. In addition, photoreceptor apoptosis, second-order neuron impairment and reactive changes in retinal microglial and müller cells, hallmark pathologies associated with photoreceptor degeneration, were assessed using immunohistochemistry ...Continue Reading

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