Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Exp Gerontol. 2009 Nov;44(11):685-8. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2009.09.002. Epub 2009 Sep 12.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the major reason of blindness of the elderly all over the world. AMD is characterized by a progressive loss of central vision attributable to degenerative and neovascular changes in the macula, the highly specialized region of the retina responsible for sharp and color visual acuity. Degeneration and cell death of retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) cause secondarily adverse effects on neural retina leading to visual loss. Most AMD patients cannot benefit from any treatment modalities. The prevalence of AMD is rising as a consequence of the aging of the population. As the RPE cells age, they are subject to continued oxidative stress and this believed to induce inflammation and progression of AMD. Interestingly, many clinical trials have revealed that dietary intakes of omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of both early and late AMD, although their molecular targets in cellular signaling in AMD pathology are not understood. Recently, it has been proposed that the omega-3 fatty acid metabolites, resolvins and protectins, function as endogenous anti-inflammatory compounds. In this review, we propose that resolvins and protectins mediate their beneficial effects by preventing NF-kappaB signaling and this that may represent a new target for regulating the inflammatory responses in AMD.
年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）是全世界老年人致盲的主要原因。AMD 的特征是中央视力进行性丧失，这归因于黄斑（视网膜中负责敏锐和色彩视觉的高度特化区域）的退行性和新生血管变化。视网膜色素上皮细胞（RPE）的变性和细胞死亡会对神经视网膜产生继发的不良影响，导致视力丧失。大多数 AMD 患者不能从任何治疗方法中受益。由于人口老龄化，AMD 的患病率正在上升。随着 RPE 细胞的衰老，它们会持续受到氧化应激的影响，这被认为会引发炎症和 AMD 的进展。有趣的是，许多临床试验表明，ω-3 脂肪酸的饮食摄入可以降低早期和晚期 AMD 的风险，尽管它们在 AMD 病理学中的细胞信号传导中的分子靶点尚不清楚。最近，有人提出，ω-3 脂肪酸代谢产物，resolvins 和 protectins，作为内源性抗炎化合物发挥作用。在这篇综述中，我们提出 resolvins 和 protectins 通过防止 NF-κB 信号传导来发挥其有益作用，这可能代表调节 AMD 中炎症反应的一个新靶点。
