ArticlePurinergic signalling2016
Saffron reduces ATP-induced retinal cytotoxicity by targeting P2X7 receptors.
Article in Purinergic signalling, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacological Effects of Saffron and its Constituents in Ocular Disorders from in vitro Studies to Clinical Trials: A Systematic Review.Current neuropharmacology · 2021Pooled it
- Antioxidant Saffron and Central Retinal Function in ABCA4-Related Stargardt Macular Dystrophy.Nutrients · 2019Trial
- α-Iso-Cubebene Alleviates AMD-like Retinal Injury Through Modulation of Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Response.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Article
- Saffron as a Retinal Neuroprotectant: A Narrative Review of Preclinical Studies and Clinical Results.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Role of P2X7R in Retinal Diseases: A Review.Immunity, inflammation and disease · 2025Review
- Antioxidants in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Lights and Shadows.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Molecular mechanisms underlying inherited photoreceptor degeneration as targets for therapeutic intervention.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2024Review
- Perspectives of traditional herbal medicines in treating retinitis pigmentosa.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- Saffron and retinal neurodegenerative diseases: Relevance of chemical composition.Journal of anatomy · 2023Article
- P2X7 Is Involved in the Mouse Retinal Degeneration via the Coordinated Actions in Different Retinal Cell Types.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Neuroinflammation in retinitis pigmentosa: Therapies targeting the innate immune system.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Sequential PBM-Saffron Treatment in an Animal Model of Retinal Degeneration.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Article
- Retinal Neurodegeneration: Correlation between Nutraceutical Treatment and Animal Model.Nutrients · 2021Article
- Cytoprotective Effects of Punicalagin on Hydrogen-Peroxide-Mediated Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Medicinal plants and natural products as neuroprotective agents in age-related macular degeneration.Neural regeneration research · 2020Review
- Saffron: Chemical Composition and Neuroprotective Activity.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Beneficial effects of saffron (Neural regeneration research · 2020Review
- Crocetin Prevents RPE Cells from Oxidative Stress through Protection of Cellular Metabolic Function and Activation of ERK1/2.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Article
- Beyond AREDS Formulations, What Is Next for Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration (iAMD) Treatment? Potential Benefits of Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Apocarotenoids as Neuroprotectors.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2020Review
- Saffron: A Multitask Neuroprotective Agent for Retinal Degenerative Diseases.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
P2X7-type purinergic receptors are distributed throughout the nervous system where they contribute to physiological and pathological functions. In the retina, this receptor is found in both inner and outer cells including microglia modulating signaling and health of retinal cells. It is involved in retinal neurodegenerative disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Experimental studies demonstrated that saffron protects photoreceptors from light-induced damage preserving both retinal morphology and visual function and improves retinal flicker sensitivity in AMD patients. To evaluate a possible interaction between saffron and P2X7 receptors (P2X7Rs), different cellular models and experimental approaches were used. We found that saffron positively influences the viability of mouse primary retinal cells and photoreceptor-derived 661W cells exposed to ATP, and reduced the ATP-induced intracellular calcium increase in 661W cells. Similar results were obtained on HEK cells transfected with recombinant rat P2X7R but not on cells transfected with rat P2X2R. Finally, patch-clamp experiments showed that saffron inhibited cationic currents in HEK-P2X7R cells. These results point out a novel mechanism through which saffron may exert its protective role in neurodegeneration and support the idea that P2X7-mediated calcium signaling may be a crucial therapeutic target in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.