Reid Gerard, Lois Noemi
Ophthalmology Department, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Royal Victoria Hospital, 274 Grosvenor Rd, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK.
Ophthalmology Department, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Royal Victoria Hospital, 274 Grosvenor Rd, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK; Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, BT9 7BL Belfast, UK.
Vision Res. 2017 Oct;139:237-242. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2017.05.010. Epub 2017 Aug 8.
Over the past years, knowledge has expanded with regards to the multiple roles played by erythropoietin (EPO) in the body. Once believed to be a hormone synthesised in the kidney and involved only in the modulation of erythrocyte production, it is recognised now that EPO can be produced in many tissues, including the retina, and by many cells. In these tissues EPO is released in response to "tissue injury" and appears to have protective functions. Despite the extensive research conducted to date, the cues leading to release of EPO and its effects in the normal and diseased retina have not been fully elucidated. In vitro and in vivo experimental studies as well as small interventional clinical studies suggest a potential beneficial effect of externally administered EPO in early diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema. In contrast, controversy exists with regards to the possible use of EPO in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Non-erythropoietic EPO-derived peptides, produced with the aim of increasing effectiveness and reducing side effects of EPO, are currently under investigation in early phase clinical trials.
在过去几年中，关于促红细胞生成素（EPO）在体内所起的多种作用的知识不断扩展。EPO曾被认为是一种在肾脏合成且仅参与调节红细胞生成的激素，而现在人们认识到，EPO可由包括视网膜在内的许多组织以及许多细胞产生。在这些组织中，EPO会因“组织损伤”而释放，并且似乎具有保护功能。尽管迄今为止已开展了广泛研究，但导致EPO释放的线索及其在正常和患病视网膜中的作用尚未完全阐明。体外和体内实验研究以及小型干预性临床研究表明，外用EPO对早期糖尿病性视网膜病变和糖尿病性黄斑水肿可能具有有益作用。相比之下，关于EPO在增殖性糖尿病性视网膜病变中的可能用途存在争议。旨在提高EPO有效性并减少其副作用而产生的非促红细胞生成性EPO衍生肽，目前正处于早期临床试验阶段。
