Oxidative Stress in the Anterior Ocular Diseases: Diagnostic and Treatment

Abstract

The eye is a metabolically active structure, constantly exposed to solar radiations making its structure vulnerable to the high burden of reactive oxygen species (ROS), presenting many molecular interactions. The biomolecular cascade modification is caused especially in diseases of the ocular surface, cornea, conjunctiva, uvea, and lens. In fact, the injury in the anterior segment of the eye takes its origin from the perturbation of the pro-oxidant/antioxidant balance and leads to increased oxidative damage, especially when the first line of antioxidant defence weakens with age. Furthermore, oxidative stress is related to mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, protein modification, apoptosis, and inflammation, which are involved in anterior ocular disease progression such as dry eye, keratoconus, uveitis, and cataract. The different pathologies are interconnected through various mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress making the diagnostics more relevant in early stages. The end point of the molecular pathway is the release of different antioxidant biomarkers offering the potential of predictive diagnostics of the pathology. In this review, we have analysed the oxidative stress and inflammatory processes in the front of the eye to provide a better understanding of the pathomechanism, the importance of biomarkers for the diagnosis of eye diseases, and the recent treatment of anterior ocular diseases.

Association of Novel Loci With Keratoconus Susceptibility in a Chinese Genome-Wide Association Study

“… 34 The exposure of the cornea to endogenous and exogenous reactive oxygen species can result in various types of molecular damage, including DNA damage. 35 Therefore the accurate DNA repair mechanism is essential for maintaining genome integrity, as well as the normal structure and function of the cornea. In addition, some genes related to DNA repair have also been identified to be associated with KC.…”

Oxidative Stress Status and Its Relationship to Skin Aging

“…It is estimated that 50% of the North American population suffer from dry eye, which may be related to reactive oxygen species and OSS of the delicate periocular tissue. Visible signs of inflammation of the delicate periocular area include erythema, edema, pruritus, and pain (Dammak at al., 2023).…”

Oxidative stress and antioxidants in cataract development

“…Conversely, oxidative stress contributes to inflammation by triggering multiple inflammatory pathways, involving pro-inflammatory agents such as interleukin-6, interferon-g, and the pro-inflammatory component of bacterial cell walls, lipopolysaccharide, all of which can enhance ROS production [11,15]. Specifically, H 2 O 2 directly modulates the activity of the transcription factor NF-kB, which in turn induces the expression of various proinflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [16,17].…”