title: Retinal protective effects of topically administered agmatine on ischemic ocular injury caused by transient occlusion of the ophthalmic artery.
abstract: Agmatine, an endogenous polyamine and putative neuromodulator, is known to have neuroprotective effects on various neurons in the central nervous system. We determined whether or not topically administered agmatine could reduce ischemic retinal injury. Transient ocular ischemia was achieved by intraluminal occlusion of the middle cerebral artery of ddY mice (30-35 g) for 2 h, which is known to also induce occlusion of the ophthalmic artery. In the agmatine group (N = 6), a 1.0 mM agmatine-containing ophthalmic solution was administered four times daily for 2 weeks before occlusion. In the control group (N = 6), a 0.1% hyaluronic acid ophthalmic solution was instilled at the same times. At 22 h after reperfusion, the eyeballs were enucleated and the retinal sections were stained by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL). Transient ocular ischemia induced apoptosis of retinal cells in the entire retinal layer, and topically administered agmatine can significantly reduce this ischemic retinal injury. The proportion of apoptotic cells was definitely decreased (P < 0.001; Kruskal-Wallis test). Overall, we determined that topical agmatine application effectively decreases retinal damage in an in vivo ocular ischemic injury model. This implies that agmatine is a good candidate as a direct neuroprotective agent for eyes with ocular ischemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shimazawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hyakkoku
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Seong
mesh_terms: D000376:Agmatine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000818:Animals; D001157:Arterial Occlusive Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007511:Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D009880:Ophthalmic Artery; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D000376:Agmatine