Neuroprotective effect of a dietary supplement against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in retina

AIM: To evaluate the neuroprotective effect of a dietary supplement (ClearVision EX (R); CV) against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in retina. METHODS: We evaluated the protective effects CV on glutamate-induced cell toxicity of an immortalized mouse hippocampal cell line (HT-22) in vitro and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) induced retinal injury in vivo. Once-daily oral administration of CV or vehicle (5% Arabic gum) was started the day before the NMDA injection and continued until the end of the study. Electroretinograms (ERGS) were recorded to evaluate the retinal function at 2d after NMDA injection. Furthermore, a histological evaluation, Western blot analysis, and immunohistochemistry were performed for assessing the signal transduction pathway. RESULTS: HT-22 cell death was induced by the addition of glutamate and co-incubation with CV protected against it. Oral administration of CV inhibited the decrease in scotopic threshold response amplitudes induced by the intravitreal injection of NMDA and those of the thickness of the inner retinal layer in the histological evaluation. The increased phosphorylated levels of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) but not cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) or Akt were observed 1h after NMDA injection in both the vehicle- and CV-treated rats; however, pERK activation was no more upregulated at 3h after NMDA injection. pERK upregulation was observed in Muller cells. CONCLUSION: CV shows a protective effect against both glutamate-induced HT-22 cell death and NMDA-induced retinal damage. pERK upregulation in the Muller cells plays a key role in the protective effect of CV against glutamate-induced retinal toxicity.