Up‐regulation of crystallins is involved in the neuroprotective effect of wolfberry on survival of retinal ganglion cells in rat ocular hypertension model

Abstract

Wolfberry (fruit of Lycium barbarum Linn) has been known for balancing 'Yin' and 'Yang' in the body, nourishing the liver and kidney, improving visual acuity for more than 2,500 years in oriental countries. The active components in wolfberry include L. barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), zeaxanthine, betaine, cerebroside and trace amounts of zinc, iron, and copper. Each of them confers distinct beneficial effects and together they help to explain widespread use of wolfberry in the eastern world. Earlier study reported the neuroprotective effects of LBP on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) in an experimental model of glaucoma and the underlying in vivo cellular mechanisms of LBP neuroprotection deserve further exploration. In this study, we adopted proteomics, functional genomics, to evaluate pharmacological effects of LBP on the neuronal survival pathways. Among the significantly changed proteins induced by LBP feeding on ocular hypertension (OH) retinas, only proteins in crystallin family were focused in this study. The proteomic results were further confirmed using the Western blotting of the retinas and immunohistochemical staining of the retinal sections. We demonstrated that neuroprotective effect of-wolfberry extract-LBP on the survival of RGCs may be mediated via direct up-regulation of neuronal survival signal betaB2-crystallin.

A review of botanical characteristics, phytochemistry, clinical relevance in efficacy and safety of Lycium barbarum fruit (Goji)

“…Neuroprotective effect of LBP on the survival of retinal ganglion cells may be mediated via direct up-regulation of neuronal survival signal betaB2-crystallin (Chiu et al, 2010). Neuroprotective effects of LBP were partly due to modulating the activation of microglia (Chiu et al, 2009a;Chiu et al, 2009b).…”

Lycium barbarum polysaccharides protect mice liver from carbon tetrachloride-induced oxidative stress and necroinflammation

“…Selection of LBP dosages was based on previous studies on neuronal protection (Chiu et al, 2010). LBP was orally fed 2 h before the CCl 4 injection.…”

From Small to Big Molecules: How Do We Prevent and Delay the Progression of Age-Related Neurodegeneration?

“…Some researchers are skeptical that polysaccharides can be developed as CNS drugs because they are less likely to pass through the BBB. However, animal studies show that the feeding of polysaccharides can reverse neuropathological changes in the eye [119,122], suggesting that it is possible for these big molecules to exhibit effects in the CNS. How can these big molecules modify the CNS environment?…”

“…In a cell culture model of AD, an alkaline fraction of LBP was protective against A -induced toxicity through upregulation of the Akt pathway [121]. In an ocular hypertension model which mimics human glaucoma, oral administration of LBP to rats up-regulated the neuronal survival signal B2-crystallin and prevented neuronal cell loss [122].…”