Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex retinal disease with no viable treatment strategy. The causative mechanistic pathway for this disease is not yet clear. Therefore, it is highly warranted to screen effective drugs to treat AMD. Rapamycin are known to inhibit inflammation and has been widely used in the clinic as an immunosuppressant. This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of rapamycin on the AMD retinal degeneration model. The AMD models were established by injection of 35 mg/kg sodium iodate (NaIO₃) into the tail vein. Then the treated mice intraperitoneally received rapamycin (2 mg/kg) once a day. The histomorphological analysis showed that rapamycin could inhibit retinal structure damage and apoptosis. Experiments revealed that rapamycin significantly attenuated inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Our experimental results demonstrated that rapamycin has protected the retinal against degeneration induced by NaIO₃. The therapeutic effect was more significant after 7 days of treatment. Therefore, our study potentially provides a powerful experimental support for the treatment of AMD.

年龄相关性黄斑变性 (AMD) 是一种复杂的视网膜疾病，没有可行的治疗策略。这种疾病的致病机制途径尚不清楚。因此，非常有必要筛选有效的药物来治疗 AMD。众所周知，雷帕霉素可以抑制炎症，并在临床中广泛用作免疫抑制剂。本研究旨在探讨雷帕霉素对 AMD 视网膜变性模型的保护作用。AMD 模型是通过注射 35 mg/kg 碘酸钠 (NaIO ₃) 进入尾静脉。然后，处理过的小鼠每天一次腹膜内接受雷帕霉素（2mg/kg）。组织形态学分析表明，雷帕霉素可抑制视网膜结构损伤和细胞凋亡。实验表明，雷帕霉素显着减弱炎症反应和氧化应激。我们的实验结果表明，雷帕霉素可以保护视网膜免受 NaIO ₃诱导的变性。治疗7天后疗效更显着。因此，我们的研究可能为 AMD 的治疗提供强有力的实验支持。