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Review
. 2017:2017:9208489.
doi: 10.1155/2017/9208489. Epub 2017 Jan 18.

Retinal Diseases Associated with Oxidative Stress and the Effects of a Free Radical Scavenger (Edaravone)

Tomomi Masuda  1 , Masamitsu Shimazawa  1 , Hideaki Hara  1
Affiliations
Review

Retinal Diseases Associated with Oxidative Stress and the Effects of a Free Radical Scavenger (Edaravone)

Tomomi Masuda et al. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017.

Abstract

Oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in developing and accelerating retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy (DR), and retinal vein occlusion (RVO). An excess amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can lead to functional and morphological impairments in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), endothelial cells, and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Here we demonstrate that edaravone, a free radical scavenger, decreased apoptotic cell death, oxidative damage to DNA and lipids, and angiogenesis through inhibiting JNK and p38 MAPK pathways in AMD, glaucoma, DR, and RVO animal models. These data suggest that the therapeutic strategy for targeting oxidative stress may be important for the treatment of these ocular diseases, and edaravone may be useful for treating retinal diseases associated with oxidative stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A hypothetical radical-scavenging mechanism of edaravone. Edaravone anion scavenges radicals (∙X) to produce anion bodies (X−) and edaravone radicals. The final product is 2-oxo-3-(phenylhydrazono)-butanoic acid (OPB), which is without oxidation power.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Protective effects of edaravone against light-induced retinal damage. Edaravone scavenges light-induced ROS and rescues light-induced photoreceptor cell death by inhibiting phosphorylated JNK, p38 (but not ERK), and oxidative stress to DNA.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Protective effects of edaravone against laser-induced choroidal neovascularization. Edaravone scavenges laser-induced ROS and rescues laser-induced choroidal neovascularization by inhibiting lipid peroxidation and endothelial cell proliferation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Protective effects of edaravone against NMDA-induced retinal damage. Edaravone scavenges NMDA-induced ROS and rescues NMDA-induced retinal ganglion cell death by inhibiting phosphorylated JNK, p38 (but not ERK), lipid peroxidation, and oxidative stress to DNA.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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