Open AccessAstaxanthin, a dietary carotenoid, protects retinal cells against oxidative stress in‐vitro and in mice in‐vivo
Author(s) -
Nakajima Yoshimi,
Inokuchi Yuta,
Shimazawa Masamitsu,
Otsubo Kazumasa,
Ishibashi Takashi,
Hara Hideaki
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 2042-7158
pISSN - 0022-3573
DOI - 10.1211/jpp.60.10.0013
Subject(s) - astaxanthin , oxidative stress , retinal , in vivo , neuroprotection , lipid peroxidation , chemistry , reactive oxygen species , retinal ganglion cell , pharmacology , inner plexiform layer , biochemistry , retina , biology , carotenoid , neuroscience , microbiology and biotechnology
We have investigated whether astaxanthin exerted neuroprotective effects in retinal ganglion cells in‐vitro and in‐vivo. In‐vitro, retinal damage was induced by 24‐h hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) exposure or serum deprivation, and cell viability was measured using a WST assay. In cultured retinal ganglion cells (RGC‐5, a rat ganglion cell‐line transformed using E1A virus), astaxanthin inhibited the neurotoxicity induced by H 2 O 2 or serum deprivation, and reduced the intracellular oxidation induced by various reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, astaxanthin decreased the radical generation induced by serum deprivation in RGC‐5. In mice in‐vivo, astaxanthin (100 mg kg −1 , p.o., four times) reduced the retinal damage (a decrease in retinal ganglion cells and in thickness of inner plexiform layer) induced by intravitreal N ‐methyl‐ d ‐aspartate (NMDA) injection. Furthermore, astaxanthin reduced the expressions of 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal (4‐HNE)‐modified protein (indicator of lipid peroxidation) and 8‐hydroxy‐deoxyguanosine (8‐OHdG; indicator of oxidative DNA damage). These findings indicated that astaxanthin had neuroprotective effects against retinal damage in‐vitro and in‐vivo, and that its protective effects may have been partly mediated via its antioxidant effects.