Penetrating Ocular Trauma in a Goldfish Model after Chloramphenicol or Traditional Medicine Angong Niuhuang Pill Treatment: An Analysis of Retinal Responses after 7 Days

Purpose: While there were numerous clinical examples of ocular damage, the histopathology of retinal responses was poorly characterized, and animal model research was limited. The consequences of retinal lesions with traditional medicine treatment were mostly unknown. In this work, goldfish was employed as a model for penetrating injury of the eyes to study the ocular trauma with antibiotic and traditional medicine treatments. Materials and Methods: The penetration of the eyes was performed at 2mm above the midline of the limbus in the superior quadrant with an 18-gauge sterile needle, all the way to the retina but avoiding the lens while the animals were anaesthetized in water containing 100 mg/L ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate (MS-222). The animals were divided into three groups and received treatments of saline, chloramphenicol, and Angong Niuhuang pill (Angong) eyedrops twice a day respectively. Angong after seven days, the animals were sacrificed. Immunohistochemical evaluation of proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), catalase, and cleaved caspase-3, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) for apoptotic cells were performed on the fish’s superior quadrants of the retinae. The whole experiment was repeated two times. Result: It was evident that both the retinae treated with chloramphenicol and Angong had fewer apoptotic cells and more proliferative cells, particularly in the cases of the Angong treatment. BDNF was in the inner nuclear layer and ganglion cell layer of all groups. In the chloramphenicol and Angong groups, some cells in the outer nuclear layer displayed BDNF. Catalase reactions confirmed equivalent findings that the treated retinae with chloramphenicol or Angong treatment had less catalase. Conclusion: Angong Niuhuang pill is a traditional medicine composite formula with antibiotic and neuroprotective effects on the brain and the eyes, and this work also pointed out its possible pharmaceutical potential.