Potential applications of artemisinins in ocular diseases

• 作者: Bing-Wen Lu Li-Ke Xie
• 来源期刊: 国际眼科杂志:英文版
• 学科: 化学
• 关键词: ARTEMISININS UVEITIS RETINOBLASTOMA retinal NEURODEGENERATIVE diseases OCULAR NEOVASCULARIZATION
• 年，卷（期）: 2019,（11）
• 页码范围: 1793-1800
• 页数: 8页
• 分类号: O64

摘要

Artemisinin, also named qinghaosu, is a family of sesquiterpene trioxane lactone originally derived from the sweet wormwood plant(Artemisia annua), which is a traditional Chinese herb that has been universally used as anti-malarial agents for many years. Evidence has accumulated during the past few years which demonstrated the protective effects of artemisinin and its derivatives(artemisinins) in several other diseases beyond malaria, including cancers, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory diseases, viral and other parasiterelated infections. Recently, this long-considered antimalarial agent has been proved to possess anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and anti-excitotoxic properties, which make it a potential treatment option for the ocular environment. In this review, we first described the overview of artemisinins, highlighting the activity of artemisinins to other diseases beyond malaria and the mechanisms of these actions. We then emphasized the main points of published results of using artemisinins in targeting ocular disorders, including uveitis, retinoblastoma, retinal neurodegenerative diseases and ocular neovascularization. To conclude, we believe that artemisinins could also be used as a promising therapeutic drug for ocular diseases, especially retinal vascular diseases in the near future.