Spermidine mitigates blue-light-induced corneal injury by alleviating oxidative stress and restoring autophagy impairment

  • Exp Eye Res. 2025 Jun:255:110360. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2025.110360.
Xiang Li  1 ,  Jiayun Ge  1 ,  Jiru Zhu  1 ,  Xin Yu  1 ,  Dongjie Song  1 ,  Zongchan Zhang  1 ,  Yutong Xia  1 ,  Yanqing Li  1 ,  Zhitong Chen  1 ,  Kuangqi Chen  2 ,  Ye Shen  3 ,  Jianping Tong  4
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
  • 2. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Eye Hospital of Shandong First Medical University (Shandong Eye Hospital), Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Jinan, Shandong, China; School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 3. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 4. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 40139641 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2025.110360
Abstract

This study investigated the protective efficacy of spermidine on corneal epithelium exposed to photodamage from artificial blue light (BL). After six weeks of BL exposure, the rabbit cornea exhibited epithelial injury and delayed wound healing accompanied by downregulation of spermidine, as identified through metabolomic analysis. Pathways related to Autophagy and the antioxidant response were implicated in this process. In vitro, spermidine mitigated BL-induced reductions in viability and proliferation of human corneal epithelial cells, decreased cell death, and enhanced colony formation. Spermidine also partially reversed BL-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and Autophagy impairment. Furthermore, topical administration of spermidine eye drops reduced epithelial injury in the rabbit cornea under BL exposure, demonstrating benefits in promoting cell proliferation, accelerating wound healing, and maintaining antioxidant capacity and Autophagy.

Keywords
Autophagy; Blue light; Corneal epithelium; Metabolomics; Oxidative stress; Spermidine.
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