{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T22:33:25Z","timestamp":1792103605798,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,28]],"date-time":"2020-01-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1580169600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005925","name":"Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TCRD107-30"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TCRD107-30"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005925","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Marine Drugs"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Astaxanthin, a xanthophyll belonging to the family of carotenoids, is a potent antioxidant. However, much less is known about its protective effects on the oxidative stress of ischemic optic nerve. We hypothesized that astaxanthin treatment could protect retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) from death via anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic responses. Adult male Wistar rats were fed astaxanthin (100 mg\/kg\/day) by daily gavage for seven consecutive days, either before or after inducing oxidative stress in the retina by photodynamic treatment. The visual function, RGC apoptosis, macrophage infiltration in the optic nerve, expression of p-Akt, p-mTOR, SGK1, pS6K, Nrf2, p62, TNF\u03b1, Il1\u03b2 in retinas were investigated. The visual function and the RGC densities were significantly higher in both pre- and post-treatment groups. The numbers of apoptotic RGCs and extrinsic macrophage infiltration in the optic nerve were significantly decreased in both astaxanthin-treated groups. Furthermore, pre- and post-treatment of astaxanthin showed a higher expression of p-Akt, p-mTOR, Nrf2 and superoxide dismutase activity, and a lower expression of cleaved caspase-3, suggesting anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative roles. Our findings indicate that astaxanthin can preserve visual function and reduce RGC apoptosis after ischemic insults. Including astaxanthin in daily diet as a supplement may be beneficiary for ischemic optic neuropathy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/md18020085","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,28]],"date-time":"2020-01-28T09:37:09Z","timestamp":1580204229000},"page":"85","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":47,"title":["Haematococcus pluvialis-Derived Astaxanthin Is a Potential Neuroprotective Agent against Optic Nerve Ischemia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Wei-Ning","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan"},{"name":"Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kishan","family":"Kapupara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Eye Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 970, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yao-Tseng","family":"Wen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Eye Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 970, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi-Hsun","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 310, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"I-Hong","family":"Pan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu 310, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8760-5739","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rong-Kung","family":"Tsai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Eye Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien 970, Taiwan"},{"name":"Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,1,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1097\/00041327-200306000-00012","article-title":"Pathogenesis of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy","volume":"23","author":"Arnold","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. 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