IQUIBICEN   23947
INSTITUTO DE QUIMICA BIOLOGICA DE LA FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS EXACTAS Y NATURALES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Melatonin protects the retina from experimental nonexudative age-related macular degeneration in mice
Autor/es:
ARANDA, MARCOS L.; CHIANELLI, MÓNICA S.; SANDE, PABLO H.; GONZÁLEZ FLEITAS, MARÍA F.; KELLER SARMIENTO, MARÍA I.; ROMEO, HORACIO E.; DORFMAN, DAMIÁN; DIÉGUEZ, HERNÁN H.; CALANNI, JUAN S.; ALAIMO, AGUSTINA; ROSENSTEIN, RUTH E.
Revista:
JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020 vol. 68 p. 1 - 13
ISSN:
0742-3098
Resumen:
Nonexudative age-related macular degeneration (NE-AMD) represents the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. Currently, there are no available treatments for NE-AMD. We have developed a NE-AMD model induced by superior cervical ganglionectomy (SCGx) in C57BL/6J mice, which reproduces the disease hallmarks. Several lines of evidence strongly support the involvement of oxidative stress in NE-AMD-induced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and outer retina damage. Melatonin is a proven and safe antioxidant. Our aim was analysing the effect of melatonin in the RPE/outer retina damage within experimental NE-AMD. The treatment with melatonin starting 48 h after SCGx, which had no effect on the ubiquitous choriocapillaris widening, protected visual functions and avoided Bruch´s membrane thickening, RPE melanin content, melanosome number loss, retinoid isomerohydrolase (RPE65)-immunoreactivity decrease, and RPE and hotoreceptor ultrastructural damage induced within experimental NE-AMD exclusively located at the central temporal (but not nasal) region. Melatonin also prevented the increase in outer retina/RPE oxidative stress markers and a decrease in mitochondrial mass at 6 weeks post-SCGx. Moreover, when the treatment with melatonin started at 4 weeks post-SCGx, it restored visual functions and reversed the decrease in RPE melanin content and RPE65-immunoreactivity. These findings suggest that melatonin could become a promising safe therapeutic strategy for NE-AMD.