For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
28
views
28
references
 Top references
cited by
10
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      952
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Efficacy of Ethanol Extract of Fructus lycii and Its Constituents Lutein/Zeaxanthin in Protecting Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells against Oxidative Stress: In Vivo and In Vitro Models of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

      research-article

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of blindness worldwide. Oxidative stress plays a large role in the pathogenesis of AMD. The present study was to evaluate the effects of Fructus lycii ethanol extract on AMD in mice and to investigate whether combination of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoid pigments in Fructus lycii, could protect human retinal pigment epithelial ARPE-19 cells treated with hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) in vitro. We found that severe sediment beneath retinal pigment epithelium and thickened Bruch membrane occurred in AMD mice. However, Fructus lycii ethanol extract improved the histopathologic changes and decreased the thickness of Bruch membrane. Furthermore, the gene and protein expression of cathepsin B and cystatin C was upregulated in AMD mice but was eliminated by Fructus lycii ethanol extract. Investigations in vitro showed that ARPE-19 cell proliferation was suppressed by H 2O 2. However, lutein/zeaxanthin not only stimulated cell proliferation but also abrogated the enhanced expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-1 in H 2O 2-treated ARPE-19 cells. These data collectively suggested that Fructus lycii ethanol extract and its active components lutein/zeaxanthin had protective effects on AMD in vivo and in vitro, providing novel insights into the beneficial role of Fructus lycii for AMD therapy.

          Related collections

          Most cited references28

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Curcumin protects the rat liver from CCl4-caused injury and fibrogenesis by attenuating oxidative stress and suppressing inflammation.

          Yumei Fu, Shizhong Zheng, Jianguo Lin … (2008)
          We previously demonstrated that curcumin, a polyphenolic antioxidant purified from turmeric, up-regulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma gene expression and stimulated its signaling, leading to the inhibition of activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) in vitro. The current study evaluates the in vivo role of curcumin in protecting the liver against injury and fibrogenesis caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) in rats and further explores the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesize that curcumin might protect the liver from CCl(4)-caused injury and fibrogenesis by attenuating oxidative stress, suppressing inflammation, and inhibiting activation of HSC. This report demonstrates that curcumin significantly protects the liver from injury by reducing the activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase, and by improving the histological architecture of the liver. In addition, curcumin attenuates oxidative stress by increasing the content of hepatic glutathione, leading to the reduction in the level of lipid hydroperoxide. Curcumin dramatically suppresses inflammation by reducing levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interleukin-6. Furthermore, curcumin inhibits HSC activation by elevating the level of PPARgamma and reducing the abundance of platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-beta, their receptors, and type I collagen. This study demonstrates that curcumin protects the rat liver from CCl(4)-caused injury and fibrogenesis by suppressing hepatic inflammation, attenuating hepatic oxidative stress and inhibiting HSC activation. These results confirm and extend our prior in vitro observations and provide novel insights into the mechanisms of curcumin in the protection of the liver. Our results suggest that curcumin might be a therapeutic antifibrotic agent for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.
          Article 0 comments Cited 92 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: found
            Is Open Access

            Neuroprotective Effects of Lutein in the Retina

            Yoko Ozawa, Mariko Sasaki, Noriko Takahashi … (2012)
            Although a large variety of pharmaceutical therapies for treating disease have been developed in recent years, there has been little progress in disease prevention. In particular, the protection of neural tissue is essential, because it is hardly regenerated. The use of nutraceuticals for maintaining the health has been supported by several clinical studies, including cross-sectional and interventional studies for age-related macular disease. However, mechanistic evidence for their effects at the molecular level has been very limited. In this review, we focus on lutein, which is a xanthophyll type of carotenoid. Lutein is not synthesized in mammals, and must be obtained from the diet. It is delivered to the retina, and in humans, it is concentrated in the macula. Here, we describe the neuroprotective effects of lutein and their underlying molecular mechanisms in animal models of vision-threatening diseases, such as innate retinal inflammation, diabetic retinopathy, and light-induced retinal degeneration. In lutein-treated mouse ocular disease models, oxidative stress in the retina is reduced, and its downstream pathological signals are inhibited. Furthermore, degradation of the functional proteins, rhodopsin (a visual substance) and synaptophysin (a synaptic vesicle protein also influenced in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease), the depletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and DNA damage are prevented by lutein, which preserves visual function. We discuss the possibility of using lutein, an antioxidant, as a neuroprotective treatment for humans.
            Article 0 comments Cited 67 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet and serum and their relation to age-related maculopathy in the third national health and nutrition examination survey.

              B Millen, J. Mareš, John Klein … (2001)
              Relations of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet and serum to photographic evidence of early and late age-related maculopathy (ARM) among persons over age 40 years (n = 8,222) were examined. Inverse relations of these carotenoids in the diet or serum to any form of ARM were not observed overall. There was a direct relation of dietary levels to one type of early ARM (soft drusen). However, relations differed by age and race. In the youngest age groups who were at risk for developing early (ages 40-59 years) or late (ages 60-79 years) ARM, higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin in the diet were related to lower odds for pigmentary abnormalities, one sign of early ARM (odds ratio among persons in high vs. low quintiles = 0.1, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.1, 0.3) and of late ARM (odds ratio = 0.1, 95 percent confidence interval: 0.0, 0.9) after adjustment for age, gender, alcohol use, hypertension, smoking, and body mass index. Relations of these carotenoids to ARM may be influenced by age and race and require further evaluation in separate populations and in prospective studies.
              Article 0 comments Cited 54 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): J Ophthalmol
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): J Ophthalmol
                Journal ID (publisher-id): JOP
                Title: Journal of Ophthalmology
                Publisher: Hindawi Publishing Corporation
                ISSN (Print): 2090-004X
                ISSN (Electronic): 2090-0058
                Publication date (Print): 2013
                Publication date (Electronic): 12 September 2013
                Volume: 2013
                Electronic Location Identifier: 862806
                Affiliations
                1Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 155 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu, China
                2Department of Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaryngology, The First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210046, China
                3Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330006, China
                4Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
                5Collage of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, China
                Author notes

                Academic Editor: Alfredo García-Layana

                Author information
                http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7858-3993
                Article
                DOI: 10.1155/2013/862806
                PMC ID: 3791792
                PubMed ID: 24163760
                SO-VID: 728db6e9-7801-4e2b-9f3e-9120a6da7216
                Copyright © Copyright © 2013 Xinrong Xu et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                Date received : 23 June 2013
                Date revision received : 27 July 2013
                Date accepted : 29 July 2013
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Ophthalmology & Optometry
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Ophthalmology & Optometry

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content952

                See all similar

                Cited by9

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors217

                See all reference authors