Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42188310›Full record

ArticleMarine drugs2026

Marine-Derived Neoagarotetraose Alleviates Dry Eye Disease by Suppressing Inflammation and Apoptosis in a Murine Model.

Nan Wu, Yating Du, Chaocheng Wu, Zhuhua Chan, Runying Zeng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Marine drugs, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Nan WuTechnology Innovation Center for Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.ORCID 0000-0001-5594-5042
Yating DuTechnology Innovation Center for Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.ORCID 0009-0001-4764-9865
Chaocheng WuTechnology Innovation Center for Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.
Zhuhua ChanTechnology Innovation Center for Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.
Runying ZengTechnology Innovation Center for Exploitation of Marine Biological Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China.ORCID 0000-0002-8134-1944

Funding

Foundation of Third Institute of Oceanography SOA 2025021Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology 2025J01242Innovation Research and Development Special Funds of the Municipality-province-ministry Co-constructed GJZX-HYSW-2024-08Xiamen Natural Science Foundation 3502Z202573097
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dry eye disease (DED) is a complex ocular surface disorder characterized by tear film instability, chronic inflammation, and epithelial damage, for which current treatments remain limited. Marine-derived bioactive oligosaccharides have attracted increasing interest due to their diverse pharmacological activities and favorable safety profiles. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of neoagarotetraose (NA4), a marine oligosaccharide derived from red algal agar, in a murine model of DED. DED was induced in eight-week-old female C57BL/6 mice by topical instillation of 0.2% benzalkonium chloride for seven consecutive days. NA4 was administered topically at concentrations of 125, 250, and 500 mg/L. Therapeutic outcomes were evaluated by tear secretion, corneal fluorescein staining, histopathological analysis, immunofluorescence staining for Ki67, F4/80, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, TUNEL assay for apoptosis, and ELISA for cytokine levels. NA4 treatment significantly improved tear secretion and reduced corneal fluorescein staining scores. Histological analysis revealed that NA4 preserved corneal epithelial thickness and restored conjunctival goblet cell density. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that NA4 reversed inflammation-associated epithelial hyperproliferation and attenuated macrophage infiltration. Moreover, NA4 markedly suppressed the expression and tissue levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, and attenuated corneal epithelial apoptosis, with the 500 mg/L NA4 group showing no significant difference in efficacy compared to the positive control 0.1% sodium hyaluronate. These findings demonstrate that NA4, a marine-derived oligosaccharide, exerts multi-targeted protective effects against DED by improving tear film stability, preserving ocular surface integrity, suppressing inflammation, and reducing apoptosis. Our study highlights the potential of marine oligosaccharides such as NA4 as promising candidates for ocular surface disease management and supports the further exploration of marine resources for ophthalmic therapeutic applications.

Indexed as

ApoptosisDry Eye SyndromesInflammationOligosaccharidesAnimalsCytokinesDisease Models, AnimalEpithelium, CornealFemaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLCytokinesOligosaccharidesanti-apoptosiscorneal epithelial protectiondry eye diseaseneoagarotetraoseocular surface inflammation

Identifiers

PMID42188310
PMCPMC13208297

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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.