Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease
Ectoine, a novel natural osmoprotectant, protects bacteria living in extreme environments. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of ectoine for dry eye disease. An experimental dry eye model was created in C57BL/6 mice exposed to desiccating stress (DS) with untreated mice as controls (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Pharmaceutics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/16/2/236 |
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| author | Xin Chen Na Lin Jin-Miao Li Haixia Liu Anmar Abu-Romman Ebru Yaman Fang Bian Cintia S. de Paiva Stephen C. Pflugfelder De-Quan Li |
| author_facet | Xin Chen Na Lin Jin-Miao Li Haixia Liu Anmar Abu-Romman Ebru Yaman Fang Bian Cintia S. de Paiva Stephen C. Pflugfelder De-Quan Li |
| author_sort | Xin Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ectoine, a novel natural osmoprotectant, protects bacteria living in extreme environments. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of ectoine for dry eye disease. An experimental dry eye model was created in C57BL/6 mice exposed to desiccating stress (DS) with untreated mice as controls (UT). DS mice were dosed topically with 0.5–2.0% of ectoine or a vehicle control. Corneal epithelial defects were detected via corneal smoothness and Oregon Green dextran (OGD) fluorescent staining. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescent staining. Compared with UT mice, corneal epithelial defects were observed as corneal smoothness irregularities and strong punctate OGD fluorescent staining in DS mice with vehicle. Ectoine treatment protected DS mice from corneal damage in a concentration-dependent manner, and ectoine at 1.0 and 2.0% significantly restored the corneal smoothness and reduced OGD staining to near normal levels. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and chemokines CCL3 and CXCL11 was significantly elevated in the corneas and conjunctivas of DS mice, whereas 1.0 and 2.0% ectoine suppressed these inflammatory mediators to near normal levels. Our findings demonstrate that ectoine can significantly reduce the hallmark pathologies associated with dry eye and may be a promising candidate for treating human disease. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:18:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad818e3812ca4ed39de3fc488946258a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:18:10Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pharmaceutics |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad818e3812ca4ed39de3fc488946258a2024-02-23T15:31:11ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232024-02-0116223610.3390/pharmaceutics16020236Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye DiseaseXin Chen0Na Lin1Jin-Miao Li2Haixia Liu3Anmar Abu-Romman4Ebru Yaman5Fang Bian6Cintia S. de Paiva7Stephen C. Pflugfelder8De-Quan Li9Ocular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAAllergan, an AbbVie Company, Irvine, CA 92612, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAOcular Surface Center, Cullen Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USAEctoine, a novel natural osmoprotectant, protects bacteria living in extreme environments. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of ectoine for dry eye disease. An experimental dry eye model was created in C57BL/6 mice exposed to desiccating stress (DS) with untreated mice as controls (UT). DS mice were dosed topically with 0.5–2.0% of ectoine or a vehicle control. Corneal epithelial defects were detected via corneal smoothness and Oregon Green dextran (OGD) fluorescent staining. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were evaluated using RT-qPCR and immunofluorescent staining. Compared with UT mice, corneal epithelial defects were observed as corneal smoothness irregularities and strong punctate OGD fluorescent staining in DS mice with vehicle. Ectoine treatment protected DS mice from corneal damage in a concentration-dependent manner, and ectoine at 1.0 and 2.0% significantly restored the corneal smoothness and reduced OGD staining to near normal levels. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) and chemokines CCL3 and CXCL11 was significantly elevated in the corneas and conjunctivas of DS mice, whereas 1.0 and 2.0% ectoine suppressed these inflammatory mediators to near normal levels. Our findings demonstrate that ectoine can significantly reduce the hallmark pathologies associated with dry eye and may be a promising candidate for treating human disease.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/16/2/236corneadry eyeectoineinflammationmurine model |
| spellingShingle | Xin Chen Na Lin Jin-Miao Li Haixia Liu Anmar Abu-Romman Ebru Yaman Fang Bian Cintia S. de Paiva Stephen C. Pflugfelder De-Quan Li Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease Pharmaceutics cornea dry eye ectoine inflammation murine model |
| title | Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease |
| title_full | Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease |
| title_fullStr | Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease |
| title_short | Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease |
| title_sort | ectoine from a natural bacteria protectant to a new treatment of dry eye disease |
| topic | cornea dry eye ectoine inflammation murine model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/16/2/236 |
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