Intravitreal Administration of Stanniocalcin-1 Rescues Photoreceptor Degeneration with Reduced Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in a Porcine Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa

A Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study of Serum Stanniocalcin-1 as a Potential Prognostic Biomarker of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Background

Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) may harbor anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties, thereby exerting neuroprotective effects. This study was done with the intent to determine the role of serum STC1 in severity assessment and prognosis prediction of severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI).

Methods

In this prospective longitudinal cohort study of 104 sTBI patients and 104 healthy individuals (controls), serum STC1 levels were quantified. Severity indicators were Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Rotterdam computed tomography classification. Follow-up time was 180 days and extended Glasgow outcome scale (GOSE) score 1-4 was deemed as poor prognosis. Multivariate analyses were applied to assess severity correlations and prognosis associations. Discriminative efficiencies were estimated in terms of area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Results

Patients exhibited significantly higher serum STC1 levels than controls. Serum STC1 levels were substantially elevated in order of GCS scores from 8 to 3, Rotterdam scores from 3 to 6 and 180-day GOSE scores from 8 to 1. Also, serum STC1 levels were independently correlated with GCS scores, Rotterdam scores and 180-day GOSE scores. Serum STC1 levels were independently associated with 180-day death, overall survival and poor prognosis, as well as were efficiently predictive of death and poor prognosis. Prediction model containing GCS scores, Rotterdam scores and serum STC1 levels, as opposed to any of them, showed higher discriminative ability for the risks of death and poor prognosis. Alternatively, serum STC1 levels were linearly correlated with risk of death, overall survival and poor prognosis under restricted cubic spline. Subgroup analysis showed that serum STC1 levels non-statistically significantly interacted with age, gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, etc.

Conclusion

A significant elevation of serum STC1 levels is highly related to severity and clinical outcome, suggesting that serum STC1 may be a potential prognostic biomarker of sTBI.

Next generation therapeutics for retinal neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases affecting the visual system encompass glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinopathies, and inherited genetic disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa. These ocular pathologies pose a serious burden of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. Current treatment modalities include small molecule drugs, biologics, or gene therapies, most of which are administered topically as eye drops or as injectables. However, the topical route of administration faces challenges in effectively reaching the posterior segment and achieving desired concentrations at the target site, while injections and implants risk severe complications, such as retinal detachment and endophthalmitis. This necessitates the development of innovative therapeutic strategies that can prolong drug release, deliver effective concentrations to the back of the eye with minimal systemic exposure, and improve patient compliance and safety. In this review, we introduce retinal degenerative diseases, followed by a discussion of the existing clinical standard of care. We then delve into detail about drug and gene delivery systems currently in preclinical and clinical development, including formulation and delivery advantages/drawbacks, with a special emphasis on potential for clinical translation.

Antisense oligonucleotide therapy for proline-23-histidine autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To discuss antisense oligonucleotide (ASON) therapy for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) caused by the proline-23-histidine (P23H) mutation in the rhodopsin gene.

RECENT FINDINGS

Viral and nonviral therapies to treat adRP are currently under investigation. A promising therapeutic option is a nonviral approach using ASONs. This form of genetic therapy has demonstrated a dose-dependent and highly selective reduction of P23H mutant rhodopsin mRNA in animal models, and it is currently being investigated as a human phase 1/2 clinical trial.

SUMMARY

There are promising new therapies to treat adRP. ASON has shown encouraging results in animal models and has undergone a phase 1 clinical trial. ASON does not use a viral vector, is delivered with standard intravitreal injection, and its effects are reversible.