Lycium barbarum(Wolfberry) Increases Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival and Affects both Microglia/Macrophage Polarization and Autophagy after Rat Partial Optic Nerve Transection

Abstract

The rat partial optic nerve transection (PONT) model has been used for studying secondary degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in recent years. In this study, we carried out PONT of the temporal side of rat optic nerves, whereas PONT was carried out of the superior side in the previous publication. We found that this surgery is better and easier than the previous method and can produce a repeatable and reliable model. We detected significant changes in the polarization of microglia/ macrophages and the level of autophagy in optic nerves after PONT. We also used this model to detect the effects of the polysaccharides extracted from Lycium barbarum (LBP) on the survival of RGCs and the changes in the polarization of microglia/macrophages and the level of autophagy after PONT. We find that LBP can delay secondary degeneration of RGCs after temporal injury of optic nerves, promote the M2 polarization of microglia/macrophages, and down-regulate the level of autophagy after PONT. In conclusion, we find that the polarization of microglia/macrophages and the autophagy level change after PONT; LBP treatment delays secondary degeneration of RGCs; and the polarization of microglia/macrophages and the level of autophagy are also altered after LBP treatment.

Quality Evaluation of Thirteen Geographical Populations of Lycium chinense Using Quantitative Analysis of Nutrients and Bioactive Components

“…Polysaccharides are the most important biologically active compounds in L. chinense; they have extensive biological functions [43,44]. As a key component of L. chinense, polysaccharides are important for maintaining healthy eyes [45,46], preventing protecting cardiac function [47,48] and preventing heart failure and diabetes [49,50]. In our study, the polysaccharide content of L. chinense was consistent with that of L. barbarum, indicating that L. chinense also have potential value as a functional food [39,43].…”

Shaping the Microglia in Retinal Degenerative Diseases Using Stem Cell Therapy: Practice and Prospects

“…Under this condition, cultures containing low-glucose medium were first placed in a hypoxia chamber (95% N 2 + 5% CO 2 ) for 1 h and then closed for 18 h ( Kanazawa et al, 2017 ). In addition, several drugs, such as minocycline ( Ahmed et al, 2017 ) and Lycium barbarum ( Li et al, 2019b ), were reported to modulate microglial polarization from the M1 to M2 phenotype in some in-vivo models. However, further studies are needed to determine whether they can be used to induce M2 polarization of microglia in vitro .…”

Natural Products: Evidence for Neuroprotection to Be Exploited in Glaucoma

“…In rats that had undergone partial optic nerve transection (PONT) feeding with LBP, for 7 days before the insult, there was delayed secondary RGC degeneration and improved retinal function by inhibiting oxidative stress, increasing the JNK/c-jun pathway and modulating the activation of microglia/macrophages in the retina [ 292 , 293 ]. More recently, the neuroprotection afforded by LBP in the PONT model has been associated with the increase of macrophage M2 polarization and the reduction of the autophagy marker LC3II [ 294 ].…”