Российский офтальмологический журнал (Dec 2020)
An experimental study of resveratrol effect on neurotrophic and structural changes in retinal ischemia
Abstract
Purpose. To investigate the effect of resveratrol antioxidant on neurotrophic and structural changes of retina/choroid tissue complex in experimental ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of retina induced by endothelin-1 (ET-1) injection in rats. Material and methods. 60 male Wistar albino rats were divided into 3 groups. 50 rats underwent I/R (Group 1 [n = 20]; Group 2 [n = 30]) while 10 animals served as controls. Retinal I/R was induced in Group 1 and Group 2 by subconjunctival injection of 0.2 mL 4 x 10-6 М ET-1. The animals in Group 1 received no resveratrol; those in Group 2 received 20 mg/kg resveratrol per os during 1 month before I/R and continued to receive it after I/R up to the moment they were euthanazied. Factors regulating mitochondrial apoptosis (BAX/BCL-2) and external pathways of apoptosis (sFas/FasL), inflammatory marker — monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (МСР-1) and neurotrophic factors – brain-derived neurotrofic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) were quantified in retinal/choroidal tissue homogenates. In each group, laboratory assessment of retina/choroid complex samples and morphological investigations were performed 3 days (16 eyes), 7 days (16 eyes), 30 days (18 eyes) after ischemia. Results. After 30 days, a statistically significant decrease of apoptotic factors BAX/BCL-2 (p < 0.001) and reduced level of MCP-1 in animals of Group 2 (p < 0.05) as compared to those in Group 1 were noted. The histological examination of the retina on day 3 showed reduced retinal ischemic lesions and signs of inflammation, decrease of the apoptosis of ganglion cells and zones of preserved retina with intact nuclear layers and a layer of photoreceptors in late post-ischemic period (after 30 days). Conclusions. The experimental results demonstrate that resveratrol has neuroprotective properties after retinal I/R injury. This suggests that resveratrol has therapeutic potential in the treatment of diseases of the retina and optic nerve.
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