Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 160-8582, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 22;9(1):295. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36576-w.
Increased global incidence of myopia necessitates establishment of therapeutic approaches against its progression. To explore agents which may control myopia, we screened 207 types of natural compounds and chemical reagents based on an activity of a myopia suppressive factor, early growth response protein 1 (Egr-1) in vitro. Among the candidates, crocetin showed the highest and dose-dependent activation of Egr-1. For in vivo analysis, experimental myopia was induced in 3-week-old C57BL/6 J mice with -30 diopter (D) lenses for 3 weeks. Animals were fed with normal or mixed chow containing 0.003% (n = 19) and 0.03% (n = 7) of crocetin during myopia induction. Refraction and axial length were measured at 3-week-old and the 6-week-old with an infrared photorefractor and a SD-OCT system. Compared to controls (n = 14), crocetin administration showed a significant smaller change of refractive errors (-13.62 ± 8.14 vs +0.82 ± 5.81 D for 0.003%, p < 0.01, -2.00 ± 4.52 D for 0.03%, p < 0.01) and axial elongation (0.27 ± 0.03 vs 0.22 ± 0.04 mm for 0.003%, p < 0.01, 0.23 ± 0.05 mm for 0.03%, p < 0.05). These results suggest that a dietary factor crocetin may have a preventive effect against myopia progression.
近视全球发病率的增加需要建立针对其进展的治疗方法。为了探索可能控制近视的药物，我们在体外筛选了 207 种天然化合物和化学试剂，其依据是一种近视抑制因子，早期生长反应蛋白 1（Egr-1）的活性。在候选物中，西红花酸表现出最高和剂量依赖性的 Egr-1 激活。为了进行体内分析，用 -30 屈光度（D）的镜片在 3 周龄的 C57BL/6J 小鼠中诱导 3 周的实验性近视。在近视诱导期间，动物用正常或混合饲料喂养，饲料中含有 0.003%（n = 19）和 0.03%（n = 7）的西红花酸。在 3 周龄和 6 周龄时，用红外光折射仪和 SD-OCT 系统测量屈光度和眼轴长度。与对照组（n = 14）相比，西红花酸给药显示出明显较小的屈光误差变化（-13.62 ± 8.14 vs +0.82 ± 5.81 D 用于 0.003%，p < 0.01，-2.00 ± 4.52 D 用于 0.03%，p < 0.01）和眼轴伸长（0.27 ± 0.03 vs 0.22 ± 0.04 mm 用于 0.003%，p < 0.01，0.23 ± 0.05 mm 用于 0.03%，p < 0.05）。这些结果表明，膳食因子西红花酸可能对近视进展具有预防作用。
