Retinal cell-targeted liposomal ginsenoside Rg3 attenuates retinal ischemia-reperfusion injury via alleviating oxidative stress and promoting microglia/macrophage M2 polarization

Retinal ischemia-reperfusion (RIR) injury remains a major challenge that is detrimental to retinal cell survival in a variety of ocular diseases. However, current clinical treatments focus on a single pathological mechanism, making them unable to provide comprehensive retinal protection. A variety of Natural Products including ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) exhibit potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Unfortunately, the hydrophobicity of Rg3 and the presence of various intraocular barriers limit its effective application in clinical settings. Hyaluronic acid (HA)- specifically binds to cell surface receptors, CD44, which is widely expressed in retinal pigment epithelial cells and M1-type macrophage. Here, we developed HA-decorated liposomes loaded with Rg3, termed Rg3@HA-Lips, to protect against retinal damage caused by RIR injury. Treatment with Rg3@HA-Lips significantly inhibited the oxidative stress induced by RIR injury. In addition, Rg3@HA-Lips promoted the transition of M1-type macrophage to the M2 type, ultimately reversing the pro-inflammatory microenvironment. The mechanism of Rg3@HA-Lips was further investigated and found that they can inhibit SIRT1/FOXO3a and NF-κB/STAT3 signaling pathways. Together with as well demonstrated good safety profiles, this CD44-targeted platform loaded with a natural product alleviates RIR injury by modulating the retinal microenvironment and present a potential clinical treatment strategy.

Anti-inflammatory therapy; Ginsenoside Rg3; M1/M2 re-polarization; Oxidative stress; RIR injury.