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World J Ophthalmol. Feb 12, 2015; 5(1): 23-30
Published online Feb 12, 2015. doi: 10.5318/wjo.v5.i1.23
Cerium oxide nanoparticles as promising ophthalmic therapeutics for the treatment of retinal diseases
Svetlana V Kyosseva, James F McGinnis
Svetlana V Kyosseva, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, United States
James F McGinnis, Department of Ophthalmology/Dean McGee Eye Institute and Department of Cell Biology, Oklahoma Center for Neuroscience, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, United States
Author contributions: Kyosseva SV and McGinnis JF contributed equally to this work.
Supported by NIH NEI, No. R21EY018306, R01EY18724, R01EY022111; National Science Foundation, No. CBET-0708172.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Svetlana V Kyosseva, PhD, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205, United States. svkiosseva@uams.edu
Telephone: +1-501-5264201 Fax: +1-501-6031146
Received: May 29, 2014
Peer-review started: May 29, 2014
First decision: June 18, 2014
Revised: November 3, 2014
Accepted: November 17, 2014
Article in press: November 19, 2014
Published online: February 12, 2015
Abstract

Nanotechnology offers exciting new approaches for biology and medicine. In recent years, nanoparticles, particularly those of the rare metal cerium, are showing potential for a wide range of applications in medicine. Cerium oxide nanoparticles or nanoceria are antioxidants and possess catalytic activities that mimic those of super oxide dismutase and catalase, thereby protecting cells from oxidative stress. The retina is highly susceptible to oxidative stress because of its high oxygen consumption and high metabolic activity associated with exposure to light. Many retinal diseases progress through oxidative stress as a result of a chronic or acute rise in reactive oxygen species. Diseases of the retina are the leading causes of blindness throughout the world. Although some treatments may delay or slow the development of retinal diseases, there are no cures for most forms of blinding diseases. In this review is summarized evidence that cerium oxide nanoparticles can function as catalytic antioxidants in vivo in rodent models of age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal degeneration and may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of human eye diseases. This may shift current research and clinical practice towards the use of nanoceria, alone or in combination with other therapeutics.

Keywords: Nanoceria, Age-related macular degeneration, Inherited retinal degeneration, Oxidative stress, Antioxidant

Core tip: This review outlines the recent findings that cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) may represent novel and broad spectrum therapeutic agents to treat retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration, retinal angiomatous, inherited retinal degeneration, and fight inflammation and pathologies associated with oxidative stress.