Extract of the Blood Circulation-Promoting Recipe (EBR-84) from the Chinese Herbal medicine "Blood Circulation Promoting Recipe" could retard retinopathy development. This study investigated whether EBR-84 protects retinas by inhibiting the β-catenin pathway using a rat model of retinopathy and a retinal ganglion cell 5 (RGC-5) cell death model. RGC death was induced by either N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) or TWS119 (an activator of the β-catenin pathway). After the corresponding treatment with EBR-84, RGC death and the protein expression levels of β-catenin, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in rat retinas were examined. β-Catenin accumulated in the retinal ganglion cell layer (GCL) of NMDA-treated rats. EBR-84 (3.9, 7.8, and 15.6 g/kg) significantly attenuated the NMDA-induced RGC loss accompanying the reduction of β-catenin expression. Moreover, the expression levels of COX-2 and VEGF were decreased by EBR-84 in a dose-dependent manner. For the TWS119-treated rats, EBR-84 also ameliorated RGC loss and lowered the expression levels of β-catenin, COX-2, and VEGF. In vitro, EBR-84 increased the viability of NMDA-treated RGC-5 while decreased β-catenin expression. In conclusion, EBR-84 retarded ratretinopathy, and the β-catenin signaling pathway played an important role during this protective process.
Keywords: EBR-84; NMDA; VEGF; retinopathy; β-catenin.