Effect of glycyrrhizic Acid, glycyrrhetinic acid and cytochalasin B on corneal transport

The purpose of this study was examined the mechanisms by which glycyrrhizic acid (GZA), glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) and cytochalasin B influence the cornea and assessed their quantitative effects on intercellular transport. Examination of corneal diffusion with two radiolabeled compounds, glycerol (paracellular pathway) and estradiol (transcellular pathway) showed that the GZA (0.016 mM) increased glycerol transport from an apparent permeability coefficient (P), 3.84 ± 0.24 to 8.31 ± 0.25 x 10^-6 cm/sec after 5 hours incubation in GBR solution. In addition, GA also increased intercellular glycerol transport and decreased electrical resistance. However, the permeability of estradiol was not changed by these compounds. On the other hand, adding cytochalasin B with GZA or GA decreased the penetration of glycerol to control values (P = 3.03 ± 0.45, 4.40 ± 0.67, respectively). The interaction of GZA or GA with corneal tissues may open tight junctions with quickly recovery of membrane integrity after removing two compounds.