PROTECTIVE EFFECT AND MECHANISM OF SCHISANDRA CHINENSIS EXTRACT ON RETINAL PHOTORECEPTOR CELL INJURY
CAIHAN YU 1#, XINGGUANG HE 1#, XUDONG LV 1, LANLAN GONG 1, XINCHAO CHENG 1, JIE YANG 1, MENGNAN ZHU 1, ZHINONG WU 2* 1Department of Ophthalmology, Xianning Central Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of science and technology, Xianning, 437100, Hubei, China 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xianning Central Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of science and technology, Xianning, 437100, Hubei, China *corresponding author: wuzhinongyisheng@163.com #Authors with equal contribution.
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Abstract:
This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of Schisandra chinensis extract on retinal photoreceptor cell damage and the underlying mechanism in an intend to provide the pharmacodynamic basis for Schisandra chinensis compatibility in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases. Forty-two male mice were randomly divided into six groups: the control group, the light exposure group (6/12/24/36 h) and the Schisandra group (received 400 mg/kg bw twice a day Schisandra extract ip for 1 day before the experiment and during the exposure to the light). The retinal light injury model was obtained by exposure the animals to light for 36 hours. The expression of Poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP-1), Fos-related antigen-2 (Fra-2) and apoptosis-related proteins as cytochrome c (Cyt-C), BCL2 Associated X (Bax), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Blc-2), B-cell lymphoma-extra-large (BCL-XL) were detected by Western blot. The results showed that after 12 hours of visible light exposure, the retina of mice was damaged. At the molecular level, the expressions of Cyt-C and Bax, significantly increased after 12 h of light exposure while the expression of Blc-2, BCL-XL significantly decreased. The levels of PARP-1 and Fra-2 in mouse retina increased significantly from 6h to 36h of light exposure. The structure and function of retina of mice treated with Schisandra extract chinensis intervention were complete and normal. It was observed a significant decrease in the Cyt-C and Bax levels and a significant increase in the Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL compared with the group exposed 36h to light along with a significant decrease in the PARP-1 and Fra-2 protein levels with no apoptosis in the outer nuclear layer of the retina. This study showed that Schisandra chinensis extract has a significant therapeutic effect on preventing the photoreceptor cell degeneration induced by light injury by modulating the expression of PARP-1, Fra-2 proteins implicated in the regulation of apoptosis in light-induced retinal injury.

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