Abstract:

[Abstract]   Objective   To explore protective effects and potential underlying mechanisms of panax notoginseng
(PTS) on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) in diabetic rats.   Methods   SD rats were randomly divided into control group, diabetic group and treatment group. The diabetic model rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Rats were given PTS50mg·kg-1·d-1in treatment group. One month later, the coexistence of nogo receptor and Brn3a (special marker of RGC) was observed by immunofluorescence staining double-labeled method. The expression of Nogo receptor was detectedby Western blot assay. The level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in retina was measured with detection kit. HE-staining was in?troduced to reveal the number of retinal RGC.   Results   A large number of Brn3a and Nogo receptors were co-existed in the retina. The Nogo receptor was exclusively expressed in RGC, which was up regulated in diabetic group compared with that ofcontrol group. The level of retinal MDA was increased and the number of RGC decreased in diabetic group than that of control group (P＜0.001). Compared with diabetic group, there were decreased retina Nogo receptor, decreased level of MDA and increased number of RGC in treatment group (P＜0.001).   Conclusion   PTS attenuates diabetes-induced loss of RGC,which may ascribe for down-regulation of retina Nogo receptor and decreased oxidative stress

Key words: panax notoginseng, diabetic retinopathy, retinal ganglion cell, myelin proteins, oxidative stress