Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in the aging population, with no curative treatment currently available. Current therapies primarily target late-stage symptoms and are limited by their frequent and invasive intravitreal (IVT) injections. To address oxidative stress-induced inflammation mechanisms relevant to early retinal degeneration, we developed a heme-bound human serum albumin (heme-albumin) complex designed to transiently induce heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), a cytoprotective enzyme with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) were selected as a delivery system due to their ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) and degrade under oxidative environments. A previous in vitro study demonstrated that heme-albumin-loaded PDA NPs reduce oxidative damage and inflammatory signaling in retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. This study evaluates the in vivo biocompatibility of IVT-administered heme-albumin and unloaded PDA NPs as independent components in a murine model. At the tested doses, both components showed minimal cytotoxicity with preservation of retinal structure, establishing biocompatible dosing for future evaluation in retinal disease models.
Abdalbaqi et al. (Sun,) studied this question.