Published online Oct 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i10.2010
Revised: June 3, 2024
Accepted: July 8, 2024
Published online: October 15, 2024
Processing time: 148 Days and 20.9 Hours
Current treatment strategies for diabetic retinopathy (DR), an eye condition that can lead to blindness, have mainly focused on proliferative DR, including vitreous injection, retinal photocoagulation, and vitrectomy. Vitreous injections mainly depend on anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy. In this editorial, we comment on the article by Sun et al. We focus specifically on the mechanisms of the protective effect of genipin on the retina. Genipin is a gardenia extract used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In their study, the authors suggest that controlling advanced glycosylation by the intraocular injection of genipin may be a strategy for preventing retinopathy. The innovative use of a Chinese medicine extract injected into the eye to achieve a curative effect has attracted our attention. Although TCM is effective in treating DR, the topical application of DR, especially intraocular injections, is not yet feasible. Herein, we present a brief analysis of effective Chinese medicines for the treatment of DR. The effectiveness of local injections of TCM applied directly into the eyes holds promise as an effective treatment approach for DR.
Core Tip: In this study, in vitro experiments showed that genipin can reverse high glucose-induced damage in cell proliferation and apoptosis, while reducing energy metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammatory injury induced by high glucose. The in vitro results showed that intravitreal injection with genipin reduced the expression of CHGA, UCP2, and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), and the CHGA/UCP2/GLUT1 signalling pathway may play an important role in this process. This study innovatively treated streptozotocin-induced mice with an intraocular injection of genipin, and concluded that genipin ameliorates diabetic retinopathy by downregulating advanced glycation end products, thereby protecting human retinal microvascular endothelial cells.