Inhibitory effect of an extract containing lutein and zeaxanthin on retinal damage

Abstract

N-retinylidene-N-retinyl-ethanolamine (A2E) is a component of lipofuscin that is characteristically observed in the retinal cells of patients with early age-related macular degeneration. It causes retinal tissue damage through photooxidation, generation of reactive oxygen species, and induction of inflammation. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of an extract containing lutein and zeaxanthin (LZ) by measuring A2E accumulation in retinal cells, changes in gene expression due to photooxidation, and damage to mouse retinal tissue in a model of retinal cell damage caused by blue light (BL). The results revealed that LZ inhibited the accumulation of A2E in retinal pigment epithelial cells, exhibited antioxidant effects and restored the expression levels of genes related to inflammation and apoptosis in retinal pigment epithelial cells with BL-induced damage. In addition, LZ reduced the number of lesions caused by BL irradiation, restored the thickness of the entire retina and the outer nuclear layer, and restored the expression of HMOX1, EYA3, and ATF6α in the retina. This study demonstrates the efficacy of LZ in BL models in vitro and in vivo. In addition, the in vivo results presented here are expected to facilitate the development of new markers for in vivo retinal damage in BL-induced models.