Effect of Guben Qingmu Fang on Gut Microbiota in Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration Mice
Objective To explore the mechanism of Guben Qingmu Fang(GBQMF)in preventing and treating wet age-related macular degeneration(wAMD)mice based on gut microbiota.Methods 105 C57 BL/6J mice were divided into normal group,distilled water group,GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group.The mice except the normal group were fed with hydroquinone(HQ)diet for 4 months,and then received laser photocoagulation(LP)to induce choroidal neovascularization(CNV)and were given corresponding drug.The normal group were fed with regular diet without HQ.Retinal hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,choroidal flatmount,intestinal permeability and intestinal flora were detected on days 7 and 14.Results Compared with the distilled water group,the retinopathy in GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group was alleviated on days 7 and 14,and the effect of GBQMF prevention group on day 7 was the most obvious.CNV area in GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group was smaller,and the area of CNV in GBQMF prevention group on days 7 and 14,GBQMF treatment group on day 14 reduced significantly(P<0.01).The concentration of serum evans blue(EB)in GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group was lower,and GBQMF prevention group on day 7 reduced significantly(P<0.05).The relative abundance of species in each group was different at the level of phylum and genus.At the level of phylum,Bacteroidota and Firmicutes were the dominant bacteria.Compared with the normal group,the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidota(F/B)increased in the distilled water group.Compared with the distilled water group,the ratio of F/B was lower in GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group.At the level of genus,compared with the normal group,the relative abundance of Dubosiella and Clostridia_UCG-014 increased in the distilled water group.Which were lower in GBQMF prevention group and GBQMF treatment group.Further analysis revealed there were significant differences in biomarkers among the normal group,GBQMF treatment group on days 7 and 14,and GBQMF prevention group on day 14.Conclusion GBQMF had a certain preventive and therapeutic effect on the occurrence and development of wAMD,and its mechanism could be related to increasing the relative abundance of intestinal beneficial bacteria,reshaping the intestinal microecological balance and decreasing the intestinal permeability.