Abstract
Purpose :
The present study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanism and beneficial effects of a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing six herbs, Chi-Ju-Di-Huang-Wan (CJDHW), on Dry eye disease (DED) by employing a rat model.
Methods :
Two-month-old male rats were subjected to topical administration of 0.02% BAC or saline for seven days to establish the dry eye model. Subsequently, they received oral treatment with CJDHW at three dosages, adjusted from human dosage, for four weeks. Cyclosporine was applied topically as positive control. Throughout the treatment, tear production was assessed weekly using Schirmer’s test. The integrity of the corneal surface was observed using a slit-lamp microscope. Additionally, the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines in corneal tissues was quantified by Real-time PCR assay.
Results :
As anticipated, the tear production in DED rats decreased by more than 50% compared to control rats (p<0.001 vs. control). This reduction was significantly restored by both cyclosporine and CJDHW at all three dosages (p<0.001 vs. DED). Slit-lamp results revealed a widespread fluorescein coalescent staining pattern across all five corneal zones in DED rats compared to control rats (p<0.001 vs. control), indicating severe inflammatory damage to the cornea. Cyclosporine-treated DED rats showed almost no fluorescein coalescent staining on the corneal surface, and CJDHW-treated DED rats exhibited less fluorescein coalescent staining compared to DED rats (p<0.001 vs. DED). The mRNA expression levels of inflammatory cytokines, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-10 and IL-17 were significantly up-regulated in the corneal tissue of DED rats compared to control rats (p<0.05 vs. control). These elevations were completely reversed by treatments with both cyclosporine and CJDHW (p<0.01 vs. DED). The effects of CJDHW on these inflammation markers were comparable to those of cyclosporine.
Conclusions :
These findings indicate that CJDHW is effective in treating DED by attenuating inflammation in the cornea. This sheds light on the mechanistic understanding of the beneficial effects of CJDHW in treating DED.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.