Luyckx Jacques, Baudouin Christophe
Thea Laboratories, Clermont-Ferrand.
Clin Ophthalmol. 2011;5:577-81. doi: 10.2147/OPTH.S18827. Epub 2011 May 10.
Trehalose is a naturally occurring disaccharide comprised of two molecules of glucose. The sugar is widespread in many species of plants and animals, where its function appears to be to protect cells against desiccation, but is not found in mammals. Trehalose has the ability to protect cellular membranes and labile proteins against damage and denaturation as a result of desiccation and oxidative stress. Trehalose appears to be the most effective sugar for protection against desiccation. Although the exact mechanism by which trehalose protects labile macromolecules and lipid membranes is unknown, credible hypotheses do exist. As well as being used in large quantities in the food industry, trehalose is used in the biopharmaceutical preservation of labile protein drugs and in the cryopreservation of human cells. Trehalose is under investigation for a number of medical applications, including the treatment of Huntington's chorea and Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies have shown that trehalose can also prevent damage to mammalian eyes caused by desiccation and oxidative insult. These unique properties of trehalose have thus prompted its investigation as a component in treatment for dry eye syndrome. This interesting and unique disaccharide appears to have properties which may be exploited in ophthalmology and other disease states.
海藻糖是一种天然存在的二糖，由两个葡萄糖分子组成。这种糖在许多动植物物种中广泛存在，其功能似乎是保护细胞免受干燥影响，但在哺乳动物中不存在。海藻糖能够保护细胞膜和不稳定蛋白质免受干燥和氧化应激造成的损伤和变性。海藻糖似乎是抵御干燥最有效的糖类。尽管海藻糖保护不稳定大分子和脂质膜的确切机制尚不清楚，但确实存在可信的假说。除了在食品工业中大量使用外，海藻糖还用于不稳定蛋白质药物的生物制药保存以及人类细胞的冷冻保存。海藻糖正在接受多种医学应用的研究，包括治疗亨廷顿舞蹈症和阿尔茨海默病。最近的研究表明，海藻糖还可以预防干燥和氧化损伤对哺乳动物眼睛造成的损害。因此，海藻糖的这些独特特性促使人们将其作为干眼症综合征治疗成分进行研究。这种有趣且独特的二糖似乎具有可在眼科和其他疾病状态中利用的特性。
