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Systemic taurine treatment provides neuroprotection against retinal photoreceptor degeneration and visual function impairments

OBJECTIVE: Retinitis pigmentosa causes progressive photoreceptor degeneration in the subjects while no clinical therapy exists. The present study sought to evaluate the potential protective effects of taurine on a pharmacologically induced RP animal model. METHODS: Photoreceptor degeneration in mice...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Tao, Ye, He, Miao, Yang, Qinghua, Ma, Zhao, Qu, Yingxin, Chen, Wen, Peng, Guanghua, Teng, Dengke
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6689665/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31496648
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/DDDT.S194169
Descripción
Sumario:OBJECTIVE: Retinitis pigmentosa causes progressive photoreceptor degeneration in the subjects while no clinical therapy exists. The present study sought to evaluate the potential protective effects of taurine on a pharmacologically induced RP animal model. METHODS: Photoreceptor degeneration in mice was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). The MNU-administrated mouse received taurine treatment and then they were examined by electroretinography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, optokinetic test, and histological and immunohistochemistry assay. RESULTS: Prominent taurine deficiency was found in the retinas of MNU-administered mice. Intravenous taurine treatment increased significantly the retinal taurine level. Morphological studies showed that taurine could alleviate the retinal disorganizations in the MNU-induced mice. Taurine also ameliorated the visual impairments in the MNU-induced mice as evidenced by functional examinations. Immunostaining experiments demonstrated that both the M-cone and S-cone populations in the degenerative retinas are rescued by taurine. In particular, the M-cone photoreceptors in superior-temporal quadrant and the S-cone photoreceptors in inferior-nasal quadrant were preferentially rescued. Mechanism study showed that the photoreceptor apoptosis and oxidative stress in the degenerative retina were effectively alleviated by taurine treatment. CONCLUSION: Taurine is protective against the MNU-induced photoreceptor degeneration. Systemic taurine administration may act as a promising therapeutic potion for retinopathies with chronic cycle.