Background. Compound Xueshuantong capsule (CXC) and Hexuemingmu tablet (HXMMT) are two important Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) frequently used to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), especially when complicated with vitreous hemorrhage (VH). However, a network pharmacology approach to understand the therapeutic mechanisms of these two CPMs in PDR has not been applied. Objective. To identify differences in the active ingredients between CXC and HXMMT and to comparatively predict and further analyze the molecular targets shared by these CPMs and PDR. Materials and methods. The differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) between normal retinal tissues in healthy individuals and active fibrovascular membranes in PDR patients were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The active ingredients of CXC and HXMMT and the targets of these ingredients were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. The intersections of the CPM (CXC and HXMMT) targets and PDR targets were determined. Then, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed, and the ingredient-target networks, protein-protein interaction networks, and KEGG-target (KEGG-T) networks were constructed. Results. CXC contains 4 herbs, and HXMMT contains 19. Radix salviae is the only herb common to both. CXC had 34 potential therapeutic targets in PDR, while HXMMT had these 34 and 10 additional targets. Both CPMs shared the following main processes: response to reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress, regulation of blood vessel diameter and size, vasoconstriction, smooth muscle contraction, hemostasis, and blood coagulation. The shared pathways included the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, relaxin signaling pathway, and IL-17 signaling pathway. Conclusions. Both CXC and HXMMT include components effective at treating PDR and affect the following main processes: response to reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress, regulation of blood vessels, and blood coagulation. Radix salviae, the only herb common to both CPMs, contains many useful active ingredients. The PDR-CXC and PDR-HXMMT networks shared 34 common genes (RELA, HSPA8, HSP90AA, HSP90AB1, BRCA, EWSR1, CUL7, HNRNPU, MYC, CTNNB1, MDM2, YWHAZ, CDK2, AR, FN1, HUWE1, TP53, TUBB, EP300, GRB2, VCP, MCM2, EEF1A1, NTRK1, TRAF6, EGFR, PRKDC, SRC, HDAC5, APP, ESR1, AKT1, UBC, and COPS5), and the PDR-HXMMT network has 10 additional genes (RNF2, VNL, RPS27, COPS5, XPO1, PARP1, RACK1, YWHAB, and ITGA4). The top 5 pathways with the highest gene ratio in both networks were the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, relaxin signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, and focal adhesion. Additional pathways such as neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway, and AMPK signaling pathway were enriched with HXMMT targets. Thus, HXMMT has more therapeutic targets shared by different active ingredients and more abundant gene functions than CXC, which may be two major reasons why HXMMT is more strongly recommended than CXC as an auxiliary treatment for new-onset VH secondary to PDR. However, the underlying mechanisms still need to be further explored.

No abstract

Background Infectious keratitis, a medical emergency with acute and rapid disease progression may lead to severe visual impairment and even blindness. Herein, an antimicrobial polypeptide from Crassostrea hongkongensis, named URP20, was evaluated for its therapeutic efficacy against keratitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection in rats, respectively. Methods A needle was used to scratch the surface of the eyeballs of rats and infect them with S. aureus and E.coli to construct a keratitis model. The two models were treated by giving 100 μL 100 μM URP20 drops. Positive drugs for S. aureus and E. coli infection were cefazolin eye drops and tobramycin eye drops, respectively. For the curative effect, the formation of blood vessels in the fundus was observed by a slit lamp (the third day). At the end of the experiment, the condition of the injured eye was photographed by cobalt blue light using 5 μL of 1% sodium fluorescein. The pathological damage to corneal tissues was assessed using hematoxylin–eosin staining, and the expression level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results URP20 alleviated the symptoms of corneal neovascularization as observed by slit lamp and cobalt blue lamp. The activity of S. aureus and E.coli is inhibited by URP20 to protect corneal epithelial cells and reduce corneal stromal bacterial invasion. It also prevented corneal thickening and inhibited neovascularization by reducing VEGF expression at the cornea. Conclusion URP20 can effectively inhibit keratitis caused by E.coli as well as S. aureus in rats, as reflected by the inhibition of corneal neovascularization and the reduction in bacterial damage to the cornea.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between myopic severity and the retinal microvasculature based on quantitative variables using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and to identify OCTA indicators of microvascular network loss in myopia. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 123 eyes of 123 myopic subjects. The included eyes were divided into three groups according to the spherical equivalent (SE) and axial length (AL): low myopia (LM) (−3.00 D ≤ SE ≤ −0.50 D), moderate myopia (MM) (−6.00 D ≤ SE <−3.00 D) and high myopia (HM) (−9.00 D ≤ SE < −6.00 D or AL > 26 mm). All the eyes underwent OCTA scans. The densities and thicknesses of the macular and peripapillary zones, including the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, superficial vascular plexus (SVP) density, deep vascular plexus (DVP) density, ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness, full retinal thickness, radial peripapillary capillary plexus (RPCP) density and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, were automatically exported. Results: Compared to the LM or MM group, the HM group had a significantly reduced FAZ area (p < 0.05). In most sectors of the parafoveal and perifoveal areas, the HM group had significantly lower DVP density and higher retinal thickness than the LM and MM groups (all p < 0.05). However, significant differences among the three groups in only one or several sectors were observed with regard to SVP density, GCC thickness and RNFL thickness, and no significant differences among the three groups in any sector were noticed in RPCP density. Perifoveal DVP density and perifoveal full retinal thickness were positively associated with SE and negatively associated with AL in stepwise multiple linear regression analyses adjusted for sex and age. Conclusion: DVP density was closely related to myopic severity. Reduced perifoveal DVP density may serve as an indicator of microvascular network loss in myopia. OCTA may provide useful and crucial information for monitoring the progression of myopia.

Background Compound Xueshuantong capsule (CXC) and Hexuemingmu tablet (HXMMT) are two important Chinese patent medicines (CPMs) frequently used to treat proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), especially when complicated with vitreous hemorrhage (VH). However, a network pharmacology approach to understand the therapeutic mechanisms of these two CPMs in PDR has not been applied. The aim of the study was to identify differences in active ingredients between CXC and HXMMT and to comparatively predict and further analyze the molecular targets shared by these CPMs and PDR. Materials and methods The differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) between normal retinal tissues in healthy individuals and active fibrovascular membranes in PDR patients were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The active ingredients of CXC and HXMMT and the targets of these ingredients were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. The intersections of the CPM (CXC and HXMMT) targets and PDR targets were determined. Then, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed, and the ingredient-target networks, protein-protein interaction networks and KEGG-target (KEGG-T) networks were constructed. Results There CXC contains 4 herbal drugs in CXC, and HXMMT contains 19. Radix salviae is the only herbal drug common to both. CXC had 34 potential therapeutic targets in PDR, while HXMMT had these 34 and 10 additional targets. Both CPMs shared the following main processes: response to reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress, regulation of blood vessel diameter and size, vasoconstriction, smooth muscle contraction, hemostasis and blood coagulation. The shared pathways included the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, relaxin signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, etc. Conclusions Both CXC and HXMMT include components effective in treating PDR. Radix salviae, the only herbal drug common to both CPMs, contains many useful active ingredients. HXMMT has more therapeutic targets shared by different active ingredients and more abundant gene functions than CXC. Moreover, the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications was the most significantly enriched pathway in both networks. However, these findings should be verified through further research.