神经血管单元在视网膜生理及病理过程中的作用研究进展

Advances in the effect of neurovascular unit in retinal physiological and pathological process

神经血管单元(NVU)是各神经细胞和血管的功能复合体,在维持视网膜环境稳态、满足视网膜代谢需求等方面发挥重要作用。生理状态下,视网膜NVU主要有两个方面的作用:(1)维持血视网膜屏障,从而维持视网膜内环境的稳态;(2)调节局部血流量,从而满足视网膜代谢和功能的需要:视网膜疾病的病理变化体现在NVU的各个功能环节,包括细胞连接、信号通路、代谢活动和细胞功能但在不同疾病中,由于病因不同,NVU受损的主要方面和临床表现也有所不同。目前对其认识仍不足,在临床的应用更是有限,在视网膜疾病的诊断和治疗领域的进一步应用是今后对NVU研究的重要方向。

Neurovascular unit(NVU)refers to a functional complex of neural cells and vasculature,which plays an important role in maintaining retinal homeostasis and matching metabolic demands.In physiological situation,retinal NVU mainly exerts two effects:(1)maintaining blood-retinal barrier for retinal homeostasis maintenance;(2)regulating local blood flow to meet metabolic and functional demands of the retina.The pathological changes in retinal diseases are reflected in each functional part of retinal NVU,including cell-cell connections,signal pathways,metabolic activities and cellular functions.However,the main pattern and manifestation of NVU impairment differs among retinal diseases due to different etiologies.At present,understanding on retinal NVU is still insufficient,and its clinical application is even more limited.Further application in the diagnosis and treatment of retinal diseases is an important direction for future research on NVU.