This experiment aimed to investigate the feasibility of cytisine (CYT) in treating eye diseases with ocular topical application. An in vitro cytotoxicity test, a hen's egg test-chorioallantoic membrane (HET-CAM), and a mouse eye tolerance test were used to fully reveal the ocular safety profiles of CYT. For the efficacy evaluations, CYT's effects on cell wound healing, against H2O2-induced oxidative stress damages on cells, and on benzalkonium chloride (BAC)-induced dry eye disease (DED) in mice were evaluated. Results showed that CYT did not show any cytotoxicities at concentrations no higher than 250 μg/ml, while lipoic acid (α-LA) at 250 μg/ml and BAC at 1.25 μg/ml showed significant cytotoxicities within 48 h incubation. The HET-CAM and mouse eye tolerance test confirmed that 0.5% CYT eye drops demonstrated good safety characteristics. Efficacy evaluations showed that CTY significantly promoted cell migration and wound healing. CYT significantly improved cell survival against H2O2-induced oxidative stress damage by reversing the imbalance between the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defense mechanisms. The animal evaluation of the BAC-induced dry eye model revealed that CYT demonstrated a strong treatment effect, including reversing ocular surface damages, recovering corneal sensitivity, and inhibiting neovascularization; HMGB1/NF-κB signaling was involved in this DED treatment by CTY. In conclusion, CYT had strong experimental treatment efficacy against DED with good ocular safety profiles, and it might be a novel and promising drug for DED.
Keywords: Cytisine; cytotoxicity; dry eye disease; ocular tolerance.