Retinal Transcriptome Analysis in the Treatment of Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis with Tetramethylpyrazine Eye Drops

To investigate retinal gene expression of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) eye drop-treated endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU) in mice and to explore the mechanisms. The inflammatory signs of the anterior segment were evaluated, and clinical scores were graded. The retinal transcriptome from the TMP eye drop-treated and the untreated mice was identified by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) strategy. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated by real-time PCR. The protein-protein interaction was analyzed using the STRING software. Compared with the TMP-treated group, the inflammatory responses of the untreated control group were much severe and clinical score was remarkably higher (P < 0.001) at 24 h after lipopolysaccharide administration. RNA-seq assay identified 407 DEGs, among which 356 were upregulated and 51 were downregulated. There were 12 upregulated gene ontology terms enriched and 27 upregulated pathways. Seven DEGs, including inflammation-related, complement system-related, and interferon-related genes, were validated using quantitative PCR. TMP exerted anti-inflammatory effect in EIU. Local application of TMP inhibited retinal inflammatory response by regulating the inflammation-related genes, suggesting that TMP may be a potential novel therapeutic drug for ocular inflammation.