Volume 19, Issue 44 2205998
Research Article

Alleviation of Photoreceptor Degeneration Based on Fullerenols in rd1 Mice by Reversing Mitochondrial Dysfunction via Modulation of Mitochondrial DNA Transcription and Leakage

Junling Yang

Junling Yang

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Xia Chen

Xia Chen

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Luodan A

Luodan A

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Hui Gao

Hui Gao

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Maoru Zhao

Maoru Zhao

CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety and CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of High Energy Physics and National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China

College of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China

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Lingling Ge

Lingling Ge

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Minghui Li

Minghui Li

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Cao Yang

Cao Yang

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

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Yu Gong

Corresponding Author

Yu Gong

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Sciences Research Center, University-Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400038 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Zhanjun Gu

Corresponding Author

Zhanjun Gu

CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety and CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Institute of High Energy Physics and National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China

College of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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Haiwei Xu

Corresponding Author

Haiwei Xu

Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, 400038 China

Key Lab of Visual Damage and Regeneration & Restoration of Chongqing, Southwest Eye Hospital, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, 400038 China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 05 July 2023
Citations: 10

Abstract

Poor therapeutic outcomes of antioxidants in ophthalmologic clinical applications, including glutathione during photoreceptor degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa (RP), are caused by limited anti-oxidative capacity. In this study, fullerenols are synthesized and proven to be highly efficient in vitro radical scavengers. Fullerenol-based intravitreal injections significantly improve the flash electroretinogram and light/dark transition tests performed for 28 days on rd1 mice, reduce the thinning of retinal outer nuclear layers, and preserve the Rhodopsin, Gnat-1, and Arrestin expressions of photoreceptors. RNA-sequencing, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting validate that mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA)-encoded genes of the electron transport chain (ETC), such as mt-Nd4l, mt-Co1, mt-Cytb, and mt-Atp6, are drastically downregulated in the retinas of rd1 mice, whereas nuclear DNA (n-DNA)-encoded genes, such as Ndufa1 and Atp5g3, are abnormally upregulated. Fullerenols thoroughly reverse the abnormal mt-DNA and n-DNA expression patterns of the ETC and restore mitochondrial function in degenerating photoreceptors. Additionally, fullerenols simultaneously repress Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1)-mediated mt-DNA cleavage and mt-DNA leakage via voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) pores by downregulating the transcription of Fen1 and Vdac1, thereby inactivating the downstream pro-inflammatory cGAS-STING pathway. These findings demonstrate that fullerenols can effectively alleviate photoreceptor degeneration in rd1 mice and serve as a viable treatment for RP.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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