PUBLICATION
A Naturally-Derived Compound Schisandrin B Enhanced Light Sensation in the pde6c Zebrafish Model of Retinal Degeneration
- Authors
- Zhang, L., Xiang, L., Liu, Y., Venkatraman, P., Chong, L., Cho, J., Bonilla, S., Jin, Z.B., Pang, C.P., Ko, K.M., Ma, P., Zhang, M., Leung, Y.F.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-160302-1
- Date
- 2016
- Source
- PLoS One 11: e0149663 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Bonilla, Sylvia, Leung, Yuk Fai, Venkatraman, Prahatha, Zhang, Liyun
- Keywords
- Larvae, Retina, Eyes, Zebrafish, Retinal degeneration, Immunostaining, Drug therapy, Embryos
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 6/genetics
- Cyclooctanes/chemistry
- Cyclooctanes/therapeutic use
- Disease Models, Animal
- Larva/drug effects
- Lignans/chemistry
- Lignans/therapeutic use*
- Mutation
- Polycyclic Compounds/chemistry
- Polycyclic Compounds/therapeutic use*
- Retinal Degeneration/drug therapy*
- Retinal Degeneration/genetics
- Retinal Degeneration/metabolism
- Retinal Degeneration/pathology
- Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells/drug effects*
- Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells/pathology
- Schisandraceae/chemistry
- Vision, Ocular/drug effects*
- Zebrafish*/growth & development
- Zebrafish*/physiology
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
- PubMed
- 26930483 Full text @ PLoS One
Citation
Zhang, L., Xiang, L., Liu, Y., Venkatraman, P., Chong, L., Cho, J., Bonilla, S., Jin, Z.B., Pang, C.P., Ko, K.M., Ma, P., Zhang, M., Leung, Y.F. (2016) A Naturally-Derived Compound Schisandrin B Enhanced Light Sensation in the pde6c Zebrafish Model of Retinal Degeneration. PLoS One. 11:e0149663.
Abstract
Retinal degeneration is often progressive. This feature has provided a therapeutic window for intervention that may extend functional vision in patients. Even though this approach is feasible, few promising drug candidates are available. The scarcity of new drugs has motivated research to discover novel compounds through different sources. One such example is Schisandrin B (SchB), an active component isolated from the five-flavor fruit (Fructus Schisandrae) that is postulated in traditional Chinese medicines to exert prophylactic visual benefit. This SchB benefit was investigated in this study in pde6cw59, a zebrafish retinal-degeneration model. In this model, the pde6c gene (phosphodiesterase 6C, cGMP-specific, cone, alpha prime) carried a mutation which caused cone degeneration. This altered the local environment and caused the bystander rods to degenerate too. To test SchB on the pde6cw59 mutants, a treatment concentration was first determined that would not cause morphological defects, and would initiate known physiological response. Then, the mutants were treated with the optimized SchB concentration before the appearance of retinal degeneration at 3 days postfertilization (dpf). The light sensation of animals was evaluated at 6 dpf by the visual motor response (VMR), a visual startle that could be initiated by drastic light onset and offset. The results show that the VMR of pde6cw59 mutants towards light onset was enhanced by the SchB treatment, and that the initial phase of the enhancement was primarily mediated through the mutants' eyes. Further immunostaining analysis indicates that the treatment specifically reduced the size of the abnormally large rods. These observations implicate an interesting hypothesis: that the morphologically-improved rods drive the observed VMR enhancement. Together, these investigations have identified a possible visual benefit of SchB on retinal degeneration, a benefit that can potentially be further developed to extend functional vision in patients.
Errata / Notes
Correction: The affiliation for the eleventh author is incorrect. Ping Ma is affiliated with the Department of Statistics, University of Georgia, 101 Cedar St, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping