Li Cunzi, Xiao Chunyu, Tao Hui, Tang Xianling
Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China.
Department of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
Adv Ophthalmol Pract Res. 2023 Feb 28;3(2):93-100. doi: 10.1016/j.aopr.2023.02.001. eCollection 2023 May-Jun.
Retinal diseases can lead to severe visual impairment and even blindness, but current treatments are limited. For precise targeted therapy, the pathophysiological mechanisms of the diseases still need to be further explored. Iron serves an essential role in many biological activities and helps maintain the function and morphology of the retina. The vision problems caused by retinal diseases are affecting more and more people, the study of iron metabolism in retinal diseases possesses great potential for clinical application.
Iron maintains a dynamic balance in the retina but in excess is toxic to the retina. Iron overload can lead to various pathological changes in the retina through oxidative stress, inflammation, cell death, angiogenesis and other pathways. It is therefore involved in the progression of retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and hereditary iron overload. In recent years, iron chelators have been shown to be effective in the treatment of retinal diseases, but the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood. This question prompted further investigation into the specific mechanisms by which iron metabolism is involved in retinal disease.
This review summarizes iron metabolism processes in the retina and mechanistic studies of iron metabolism in the progression of retinal disease. It also highlights the therapeutic potential of iron chelators in retinal diseases.
视网膜疾病可导致严重的视力损害甚至失明，但目前的治疗方法有限。为了实现精准靶向治疗，仍需进一步探索这些疾病的病理生理机制。铁在许多生物活动中发挥着重要作用，并有助于维持视网膜的功能和形态。视网膜疾病引起的视力问题影响着越来越多的人，对视网膜疾病中铁代谢的研究具有巨大的临床应用潜力。
铁在视网膜中维持动态平衡，但过量的铁对视网膜有毒性。铁过载可通过氧化应激、炎症、细胞死亡、血管生成等途径导致视网膜发生各种病理变化。因此，它参与了年龄相关性黄斑变性、青光眼、糖尿病视网膜病变、视网膜色素变性和遗传性铁过载等视网膜疾病的进展。近年来，铁螯合剂已被证明对视网膜疾病的治疗有效，但其确切机制尚未完全明确。这个问题促使人们进一步研究铁代谢参与视网膜疾病的具体机制。
本综述总结了视网膜中的铁代谢过程以及铁代谢在视网膜疾病进展中的机制研究。它还强调了铁螯合剂在视网膜疾病中的治疗潜力。
