First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, China.
Graduated School of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, China.
J Cell Mol Med. 2019 May;23(5):3495-3504. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.14246. Epub 2019 Mar 1.
Glycyrrhizin is a bioactive triterpenoid saponin extracted from a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, glycyrrhiza, and has been reported to protect the organs such as liver and heart from injuries. However, there is no report about the effects of glycyrrhizin on atrophic age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This study investigated the effects of glycyrrhizin on retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) in vitro and retina of mice in vivo treated with sodium iodate (SI). Glycyrrhizin significantly inhibited SI-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), and decreased apoptosis of RPE in vitro. The underlying mechanisms included increased phosphorylation of Akt, and increased expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2 (Nrf-2) and HO-1, thereby protecting RPE from SI-induced ROS and apoptosis. Furthermore, glycyrrhizin significantly decreased the apoptosis of retinal cells in vivo, resulting in the inhibition of thinning of retina, decreasing the number of drusen and improving the function of retina. These findings suggested that glycyrrhizin may be a potential candidate for the treatment of atrophic AMD in clinical practice.
甘草酸是从传统中药甘草中提取的一种生物活性三萜皂苷，已被报道可保护肝脏和心脏等器官免受损伤。然而，目前尚无关于甘草酸对萎缩性年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）的影响的报道。本研究探讨了甘草酸对体外培养的视网膜色素上皮（RPE）和体内碘酸钠（SI）处理的小鼠视网膜的作用。甘草酸可显著抑制 SI 诱导的活性氧（ROS），并减少体外 RPE 的细胞凋亡。其潜在机制包括增加 Akt 的磷酸化，以及核因子红细胞 2 相关因子 2（Nrf-2）和 HO-1 的表达，从而保护 RPE 免受 SI 诱导的 ROS 和细胞凋亡。此外，甘草酸还可显著减少体内视网膜细胞的凋亡，从而抑制视网膜变薄，减少玻璃膜疣的数量，并改善视网膜功能。这些发现表明，甘草酸可能是临床治疗萎缩性 AMD 的潜在候选药物。
