Oxidative Stress: A Suitable Therapeutic Target for Optic Nerve Diseases?
Francesco BuonfiglioElsa Wilma BöhmNorbert PfeifferAdrian GerickePublished in: Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
Optic nerve disorders encompass a wide spectrum of conditions characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and subsequent degeneration of the optic nerve. The etiology of these disorders can vary significantly, but emerging research highlights the crucial role of oxidative stress, an imbalance in the redox status characterized by an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in driving cell death through apoptosis, autophagy, and inflammation. This review provides an overview of ROS-related processes underlying four extensively studied optic nerve diseases: glaucoma, Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION), and optic neuritis (ON). Furthermore, we present preclinical findings on antioxidants, with the objective of evaluating the potential therapeutic benefits of targeting oxidative stress in the treatment of optic neuropathies.
Keyphrases
- optic nerve
- oxidative stress
- cell death
- cell cycle arrest
- induced apoptosis
- reactive oxygen species
- dna damage
- optical coherence tomography
- ischemia reperfusion injury
- diabetic rats
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cancer therapy
- multidrug resistant
- signaling pathway
- bone marrow
- heat shock
- cell proliferation
- cell therapy
- drug delivery
- mesenchymal stem cells
- brain injury
- smoking cessation
- cerebral ischemia
- subarachnoid hemorrhage