PURINE MEDIATORS AS SIGNALING MOLECULES IN EYE PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY (LITERATURE REVIEW)

Actuality. The purine system, and adenosine as its most prominent representative, is involved in the regulation of many physiological processes in the body. Balance disorders in the functioning of this system can be a part of the pathogenesis of various ocular pathologies. Adenosine is considered as a potential agent for correction of ocular hydrodynamics, neuroprotection, and anti-inflammatory effects in the eye. There is a complex relationship between adenosine and another regulatory system, the renin-angiotensin system, which also has local representation in the eyes. These mechanisms take part in the formation of eye diseases with endothelial vascular dysfunction, such as glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, etc. Purpose – analyze the world literature on the involvement of the purinergic system in physiological and pathological processes in the eye and the possibility of developing a new direction of drug treatment in ophthalmology, especially in glaucoma. Materials and methods. The present article analyzes the scientometric databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PMC free article, and Google Scholar from 1996 to 2024. A total of 41 studied sources were included, covering the world literature on the involvement of the purinergic system in physiological and pathological processes in the eye. Research results. Literature data indicate that the adenosine system is one of the potential target systems for therapeutic approaches in glaucoma. The development of a new direction of drug treatment for glaucoma is possible due to the proven properties of purine mediators, especially for adenosine as a ubiquitous local modulator, particularly in the eye.