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Published on: September 17, 2014
Non-mitogenic human acidic fibroblast growth factor reduces retinal degeneration induced by sodium iodate
Weiwei Chen1, Man Yu, Yun Wang
1Department of Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Laboratories, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
To investigate the protective effects of non-mitogenic human acidic fibroblast growth factor on retinal degeneration induced by NaIO(3) in rats.
Methods:
Retinal degeneration was induced in adult male Wistar rats via caudal-vein injection of 1% NaIO(3) at 50 mg/kg. One h after NaIO(3) treatment, the right eyes received intravitreal injection of 2.5 microg nm-haFGF in 10 microL saline and the left eyes received saline alone as vehicle-treated eyes. Retinal function in rats was evaluated by electroretinogram (ERG) before injection and 1, 7, and 21 days postinjection. Additional rat eyes were enucleated 7 and 21 days postinjection, fixed, and processed for histological examination.
Results:
A model of retinal degeneration in rat was established successfully using NaIO(3) injection. Significant decreases in both ERG a- and b-wave amplitudes were detected in NaIO(3)-injected rats when compared with the normal animals (P < 0.05) on day 7 postinjection. Importantly, at the seventh day after intravitreal nm-haFGF treatment on NaIO(3)-injected rats, the nm-haFGF-treated eyes showed a significant improvement in the ERG amplitudes of both a- and b-waves when compared with vehicle-treated eyes (P < 0.05). In addition, the disruptions of photoreceptor outer segments and the retinal pigment epithelium monolayer were much less frequently observed in the nm-haFGF-treated eyes than the vehicle-treated eyes, and the outer nuclear layer thickness in the nm-haFGF-treated eyes was similar to that of the normal eyes.
Conclusions:
Intravitreal delivery of nm-haFGF appears to have neuroprotective effect on retinal degeneration induced by NaIO(3).
