Department of Medicine and Health Sciences "V. Tiberio", University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy.
Eye Clinic, Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.
Molecules. 2021 Feb 6;26(4):849. doi: 10.3390/molecules26040849.
Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial condition caused by tear deficiency and accompanied by ocular surface damage. Recent data support a key role of oxidative and inflammatory processes in the pathogenesis of DED. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is widely used in artificial tears to treat DED by improving ocular hydration and reducing surface friction. Crocin (Cr), the main constituent of saffron, is a renowned compound that exhibits potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The present study was undertaken to assess the viscosity and muco-adhesiveness of a photoactivated formulation with crosslinked HA (cHA), Cr, and liposomes (cHA-Cr-L). Our aim was also to evaluate whether cHA-Cr-L may exert cytoprotective effects against oxidative and inflammatory processes in human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs). Viscosity was measured using a rotational rheometer, and then the muco-adhesiveness was evaluated. Under hyperosmolarity (450 mOsm), the HCECs were treated with cHA-Cr-L. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) were quantified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using the DCF assay. The combined action of cHA-Cr-L produced a higher viscosity and muco-adhesiveness compared to the control. The anti-inflammatory effect of cHA-Cr-L was achieved through a significant reduction of IL-1β and TNFα ( < 0.001). The results also showed that cHA-Cr-L reduces ROS production under conditions of hyperosmolarity ( < 0.001). We conclude that cHA-Cr-L has potential as a therapeutic agent in DED, which should be further investigated.
干眼症（DED）是一种由泪液缺乏伴发眼表损伤的多因素疾病。最近的数据支持氧化和炎症过程在 DED 的发病机制中起关键作用。透明质酸（HA）广泛用于人工泪液中，通过改善眼表湿润度和减少表面摩擦来治疗 DED。藏红花中的主要成分藏红花酸（Cr）是一种具有强大抗氧化和抗炎作用的知名化合物。本研究旨在评估一种具有交联 HA（cHA）、Cr 和脂质体（cHA-Cr-L）的光激活制剂的粘度和黏膜黏附性。我们的目的还在于评估 cHA-Cr-L 是否可以对人角膜上皮细胞（HCECs）的氧化和炎症过程发挥细胞保护作用。使用旋转流变仪测量粘度，然后评估黏膜黏附性。在高渗条件下（450 mOsm），用 cHA-Cr-L 处理 HCECs。通过定量实时聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）定量白细胞介素 1β（IL-1β）和肿瘤坏死因子 α（TNFα）。使用 DCF 测定法测量活性氧（ROS）的水平。cHA-Cr-L 的联合作用产生的粘度和黏膜黏附性高于对照组。cHA-Cr-L 的抗炎作用是通过显著降低 IL-1β 和 TNFα（<0.001）实现的。结果还表明，cHA-Cr-L 可减少高渗条件下 ROS 的产生（<0.001）。我们得出结论，cHA-Cr-L 具有作为 DED 治疗剂的潜力，应进一步研究。
