A pterygium is generally believed to be a chronic inflammatory lesion caused by external stimuli that develops from the conjunctiva and grows onto the cornea. Simple bare sclera excision is the most commonly used method to treat pterygium. However, the high postoperative recurrence rate of pterygium remains a persistent challenge. Mitomycin C (MMC) is an antineoplastic antibiotic that inhibits DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis. In recent years, although MMC has proven useful for the treatment of pterygium, its application has been controversial because of its clear toxicity and the possibility of ocular complications. In the current study, we prospectively recruited patients to receive or not receive a local injection of MMC (0.4 mg/ml). Follow-up was conducted with the patients to determine the postoperative recurrence rate of pterygium and/or to observe any ocular complications. The remarkable results demonstrated that MMC can decrease the postoperative recurrence rate of pterygium without leading to serious eye complications. Further results indicated that MMC can inhibit the activation of the NLRP3 inflammatory signalling pathway and thus downregulate the expression of downstream molecules, including IL-18 and IL-1β. MMC also reduced the expression of inflammatory factors TGF-β1, VEGF, and IL-6. In addition to influencing these factors, MMC suppressed neovascularization and the proliferation of corneal fibroblasts to effectively reduce the recurrence rate of pterygium. Taken together, our results provide a theoretical basis for the development of prevention and treatment strategies for pterygium and suggest that MMC is highly effective as an adjunctive treatment after excision of primary pterygia.
Background: Malus toringoides (Rehd.) Hughes, as a traditional medicinal and edible plant used in Tibet, China, is used to treat hypertension, hyperlipemia and liver diseases. This present study was designed to investigate the effects of ethanol extract of M. toringoides (EMT) on metabolic syndrome (MS) and liver injury in high-fructose-induced mice. Methods: The C57BL/6J male mice were divided into five groups (n=8). Con group was drunk with standard water, Fru group and the other three with 30% high-fructose water for 8 weeks. EMT (195 mg/kg, 390 mg/kg, 780 mg/kg) was administered to each of high fructose groups simultaneously. Glucose tolerance tests (GTT) were performed. Blood samples were collected from eyeball. The mice were euthanized. Liver and epididymal fat were weighed. The palmitic acid (PA)-induced HepG2 cells were used to evaluate the protective effect of EMT on liver lipid accumulation. Results: The administration of EMT is helpful to maintain near normal body weight, blood glucose, insulin, organ index, glucose tolerance, and serum levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, Apo-B, and Apo-A1 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). EMT treatment significantly improved liver injury by the down-regulation of liver lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators in high-fructose-induced mice (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). In vitro, EMT (25 µg/mL-200 µg/mL) significantly decreased lipid droplet accumulation and TG content in PA-induced HepG2 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).Conclusion: EMT can obviously improve high fructose-induced MS in mice. In vitro, EMT can inhibit PA-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells.which may emphasizes the use of M. toringoides supplementation in everyday life of over-weighted persons and opens perspectives for clinical trials.
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