AUTHOR=Das Ashmita , Kashyap Onkar , Singh Amrita , Shree Jaya , Namdeo Kamta P. , Bodakhe Surendra H. 

TITLE=Oxymatrine Protects TGFβ1-Induced Retinal Fibrosis in an Animal Model of Glaucoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.750342

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.750342

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Glaucoma has engulfed a huge population of the world into its claws of blindness as it remains 11 asymptomatic till nearly 40% of the neurons are lost and the only option left is to undergo 12 symptomatic treatment or surgical methods, either of which is not completely effective against the 13 cure of the disease as they do not restore the physiological dimensions at the neuronal level. 14 Amongst the several factors that drive the pathophysiology of glaucoma, one of them is the 15 involvement of fibrogenic factors like TGFβ that leads to remodeling of the extracellular matrix 16 (ECM) and thus deposition of fibrotic material in the retina resulting in the progression of primary 17 open angle glaucoma (POAG). In this study we have experimentally elucidated the role of 18 oxymatrine (OMT), a transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) antagonist which is also known to 19 exert its roles as an antiinflammatory and antioxidant on the steroid induced glaucoma model in 20 experimental rats and a direct inhibitory effect of oxymatrine on TGFβ1 as verified by the ELISA 21 assay has been observed. The antioxidant and antiinflammatory potential of OMT was determined 22 by several biochemical estimations that determined the major antioxidant systems in the retinal 23 layers like superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and glutathione along with 24 nitrite and MDA levels. Moreover, OMT has been found to reduce the total protein content in the 25 retinal layers, a correlation that has not been formerly determined. The impacts of OMT on the 26 major governing ATPases, namely Na+/K+ ATPase and Ca2+ATPase along with the intracellular 27 ionic concentrations of Na+, K+, and Ca2+ have been determined during the study which point 28 towards the restoration of homeostasis by OMT in the glaucomatous animals. A clearer picture of 29 the changes during the treatment has been determined by the retinal images of the live animals and 30 the picturization of the lenticular changes post their sacrifice to support the data relating the 31 pathological pathways leading to glaucoma inception its consequent inhibition by oxymatrine.