Abstract
Ocular pathologic angiogenesis is an important causative risk factor of blindness in retinopathy of prematurity, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, and neovascular macular degeneration. Guibi-tang (GBT) is a frequently used oriental herbal formula in East Asian countries, and is also called Qui-pi-tang in Chinese and Kihi-To in Japanese. In the present study, we investigated the preventive effect of GBT on retinal pathogenic neovascularization in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 75% hyperoxia for five days on postnatal day 7 (P7). The mice were then exposed to room air from P12 to P17 to induce ischemic proliferative retinopathy. GBT (50 or 100 mg/kg/day) was intraperitoneally administered daily for five days (from P12 to P16). On P17, Retinal neovascularization was measured on P17, and the expression levels of 55 angiogenesis-related factors were analyzed using protein arrays. GBT significantly decreased retinal pathogenic angiogenesis in OIR mice, and protein arrays revealed that GBT decreased PAI-1 protein expression levels. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that GBT reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) mRNA levels in OIR mice. GBT promotes potent inhibitory activity for retinal neovascularization by decreasing VEGF, FGF2, and PAI-1 levels.
Highlights
Retinal neovascularization, which is the pathological growth of new blood vessels, is associated with many disease processes including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, central retinal vein occlusion, and branch retinal vein occlusion [1,2].Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a central role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis [3]
Despite strong evidence associating VEGF with retinal neovascularization, it is likely that VEGF collaborates with other angiogenic factors such as insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) to stimulate retinal neovascularization [4]
FGF2 has been a candidate retinal angiogenesis factor longer than VEGF, and many studies have investigated its possible role in retinal neovascularization [9]
Summary
Retinal neovascularization, which is the pathological growth of new blood vessels, is associated with many disease processes including diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, central retinal vein occlusion, and branch retinal vein occlusion [1,2]. GBT, which is a mixture of 12 herbs, inhibits retinal neovascularization via the suppression of VEGF, FGF2, and PAI-1 in OIR mice. FGF2 is expressed in many tissues and cell types and directly affect new vessel growth through heparan-sulfate proteoglycan tyrosine kinase receptors and integrins that are expressed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells [31,32] Blocking both FGF2 and VEGF is essential to disrupting the interconnection between these two angiogenic factors and effectively inhibiting early stage angiogenesis [33]. Herbal formula has many advantages, such as additive synergic interactions among a variety of phytocompounds contained in the different herbs [62] It was still unclear which compound in GBT might play the most important role in the inhibition of retinal neovascularization, these observations suggest that the prevention of retinal neovascularization by GBT may occur due to a combination of these compounds’ effects. The detailed mechanism that underlies the synergistic effects of GBT on retinal neovascularization remains unknown
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
