Oral 8-aminoguanine against age-related retinal degeneration
Vision decline in the elderly, often due to retinal aging, predisposes individuals to pathologies like age-related macular degeneration. Currently, there are few effective oral treatments for this condition. Our study introduces an oral agent, 8-aminoguanine (8-AG), which targets age-related retinal degeneration using an aged Fischer 344 rat model. When administered in drinking water at a low dose for 8 weeks starting at 22 months of age, 8-AG significantly preserves retinal structure and function, as evidenced by increased retinal thickness, enhanced photoreceptor integrity, and improved electroretinogram responses. 8-AG reduces apoptosis, oxidative damage, and microglial/macrophage activation in aging retinae. 8-AG also mitigates retinal inflammation at transcriptional and cytokine levels. Extending treatment to 17 weeks further amplifies these protective effects. Given its efficacy in various disease models, 8-AG shows great promise as an anti-aging compound with the potential to mitigate common hallmarks of aging.
Authors
- Chase D. Dermond
- Edwin K. Jackson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8101-6009)
- Anthony J. St. Leger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2547-200X)
- Donna B. Stolz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1833-7010)
- Owen D. Clinger
- Lori A. Birder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3393-2256)
- Sheng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7722-0891)
- Amanda Wolf‐Johnston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2956-9140)
- José‐Alain Sahel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4831-1153)
- Abhishek Vats (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4797-2136)
- Xuewei Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6920-2434)
- Yuanyuan Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9625-1610)
- Jonathan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4142-5684)
- Yibo Xi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9709-2698)
- Riley K. Arbuckle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7350-7967)
Institutions
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2025-05-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08242-1
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Retinal Diseases and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.71
Funders
- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
- Richard King Mellon Foundation
- Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh
- Research to Prevent Blindness
- University of Pittsburgh
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute on Aging
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- National Eye Institute
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- National Center for Research Resources
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute