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Lee D, Nakai A, Miwa Y, Tomita Y, Kunimi H, Chen J, Ikeda SI, Tsubota K, Negishi K, Kurihara T. Retinal degeneration induced in a mouse model of ischemia-reperfusion injury and its management by pemafibrate treatment. FASEB J 2022; 36:e22497. [PMID: 35969144 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202200455rrr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Retinal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a common cause of visual impairment. To date, no effective treatment is available for retinal I/R injury. In addition, the precise pathological mechanisms still need to be established. Recently, pemafibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) modulator, was shown to be a promising drug for retinal ischemia. However, the role of pemafibrate in preventing retinal I/R injury has not been documented. Here, we investigated how retinal degeneration occurs in a mouse model of retinal I/R injury by elevation of intraocular pressure and examined whether pemafibrate could be beneficial against retinal degeneration. Adult mice were orally administered pemafibrate (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 4 days, followed by retinal I/R injury. The mice were continuously administered pemafibrate once every day until the end of the experiments. Retinal functional changes were measured using electroretinography. Retina, liver, and serum samples were used for western blotting, quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, or enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Retinal degeneration induced by retinal inflammation was prevented by pemafibrate administration. Pemafibrate administration increased the hepatic PPARα target gene expression and serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21, a neuroprotective molecule in the eye. The expression of hypoxia-response and pro-and anti-apoptotic/inflammatory genes increased in the retina following retinal I/R injury; however, these changes were modulated by pemafibrate administration. In conclusion, pemafibrate is a promising preventive drug for ischemic retinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deokho Lee
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ayaka Nakai
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yukihiro Miwa
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Aichi Animal Eye Clinic, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yohei Tomita
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Hiromitsu Kunimi
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junhan Chen
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichi Ikeda
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Kazuno Negishi
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshihide Kurihara
- Laboratory of Photobiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Ophthalmology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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Pemafibrate Prevents Retinal Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Unilateral Common Carotid Artery Occlusion. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22179408. [PMID: 34502311 PMCID: PMC8431531 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22179408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases lead to retinal ischemia, one of the leading causes of blindness. Retinal ischemia triggers pathological retinal glial responses and functional deficits. Therefore, maintaining retinal neuronal activities and modulating pathological gliosis may prevent loss of vision. Previously, pemafibrate, a selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha modulator, was nominated as a promising drug in retinal ischemia. However, a protective role of pemafibrate remains untouched in cardiovascular diseases-mediated retinal ischemia. Therefore, we aimed to unravel systemic and retinal alterations by treating pemafibrate in a new murine model of retinal ischemia caused by cardiovascular diseases. Adult C57BL/6 mice were orally administered pemafibrate (0.5 mg/kg) for 4 days, followed by unilateral common carotid artery occlusion (UCCAO). After UCCAO, pemafibrate was continuously supplied to mice until the end of experiments. Retinal function (a-and b-waves and the oscillatory potentials) was measured using electroretinography on day 5 and 12 after UCCAO. Moreover, the retina, liver, and serum were subjected to qPCR, immunohistochemistry, or ELISA analysis. We found that pemafibrate enhanced liver function, elevated serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), one of the neuroprotective molecules in the eye, and protected against UCCAO-induced retinal dysfunction, observed with modulation of retinal gliosis and preservation of oscillatory potentials. Our current data suggest a promising pemafibrate therapy for the suppression of retinal dysfunction in cardiovascular diseases.
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