Choroidal neovascularization (CNV)
is the leading cause of vision
loss in many blinding diseases, but current antiangiogenic therapies
with invasively intravitreal injection suffer from poor patient compliance
and a rate of devastating ocular complications. Here, we develop an
alternative antiangiogenic agent based on hybrid cell-membrane-cloaked
nanoparticles for noninvasively targeted treatment of CNV. The retinal
endotheliocyte membrane coating provides as-fabricated nanoagents
with homotypic targeting capability and binding ability to the vascular
endothelial growth factor. The fusion of red blood cell membranes
protects the hybrid membrane-coated nanoparticles from phagocytosis
by macrophages. In a laser-induced wet age-related macular degeneration
mouse model, a significantly enhanced accumulation is observed in
CNV regions after intravenous delivery of the hybrid membrane-coated
nanoparticles. Moreover, an excellent therapeutic efficacy is achieved
in reducing the leakage and area of CNV. Overall, the biomimetic antiangiogenic
nanoagents provide an effective approach for noninvasive treatment
of CNV.
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most common ocular complication caused by diabetes mellitus and is the main cause of visual impairment in working‐age people. Reactive gliosis and pro‐inflammatory cytokine production by Müller cells contribute to the progression of DR. Melatonin is a strong anti‐inflammatory hormone, mediating the cytoprotective effect of a variety of retinal cells against hyperglycemia. In this study, melatonin inhibited the gliosis activation and inflammatory cytokine production of Müller cells in both in vitro and in vivo models of DR. The melatonin membrane blocker, Luzindole, invalidated the melatonin‐mediated protective effect on Müller cells. Furthermore, melatonin inhibited Müller cell activation and pro‐inflammatory cytokine production by upregulating the long noncoding RNA maternally expressed gene 3/miR‐204/sirtuin 1 axis. In conclusion, our study suggested that melatonin treatment could be a novel therapeutic strategy for DR.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.