Laboratory of Retinal Cell Biology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Lab Invest. 2012 Jan;92(1):102-9. doi: 10.1038/labinvest.2011.132. Epub 2011 Sep 5.
Anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract, a plant-derived antioxidant, has been utilized as a popular supplement for ocular health worldwide. However, it is unclear whether this extract has any biological effect on visual function, and the mechanism for such an effect is completely unknown. In this study, we generated a mouse model of endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) that shows retinal inflammation, as well as uveitis, by injecting lipopolysaccharide. We pretreated the mice with anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract and analyzed the effect on the retina. Anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract prevented the impairment of photoreceptor cell function, as measured by electroretinogram. At the cellular level, we found that the EIU-associated rhodopsin decreased and the shortening of outer segments in photoreceptor cells were suppressed in the bilberry-extract-treated animals. Moreover, the extract prevented both STAT3 activation, which induces inflammation-related rhodopsin decrease, and the increase in interleukin-6 expression, which activates STAT3. In addition to its anti-inflammatory effect, the anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract ameliorated the intracellular elevation of reactive oxygen species and activated NF-κB, a redox-sensitive transcription factor, in the inflamed retina. Our findings indicate that anthocyanin-rich bilberry extract has a protective effect on visual function during retinal inflammation.
富含花色苷的越橘提取物，一种植物源性抗氧化剂，已被广泛用作眼部健康的流行补充剂。然而，目前尚不清楚该提取物对视觉功能是否有任何生物学影响，其作用机制也完全未知。在这项研究中，我们通过注射脂多糖生成了一种内毒素诱导的葡萄膜炎（EIU）的小鼠模型，该模型表现出视网膜炎症和葡萄膜炎。我们用富含花色苷的越橘提取物预处理这些小鼠，并分析其对视网膜的影响。富含花色苷的越橘提取物可预防光感受器细胞功能的损害，这可通过视网膜电图测量。在细胞水平上，我们发现 EIU 相关的视紫红质减少，以及光感受器细胞的外节缩短在越橘提取物处理的动物中受到抑制。此外，该提取物可预防引发炎症相关视紫红质减少的 STAT3 激活，以及激活 STAT3 的白细胞介素-6 表达增加。除了抗炎作用外，富含花色苷的越橘提取物还可改善炎症视网膜中活性氧的细胞内升高，并激活 NF-κB，一种氧化还原敏感的转录因子。我们的研究结果表明，富含花色苷的越橘提取物对视网膜炎症期间的视觉功能具有保护作用。
