Inhibitory action of dithiothreitol on selenite-induced cataract in rats / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the inhibitory action of self-designed dithiothreitol(DTT) eye drops on selenite-induced rat cataract(simulating the senile cataract). Methods: Twelve-day-old SD rats (body weight about 25 g) were injected with Na2SeO3 subcutaneouly, quaque die alterna, for 3 times (0.2 ml/time, with a total amount of 210 μg). Six days later over 90% of rats developed nuclear cataracts. The right eyes of the rats were treated with 25 mmol/L DTT eye drops (4 times/day, 1 drop/ time) for 3 weeks. The left eyes were taken as control and were treated with normal saline at the same dosage. The lens were examined using slit lamp and the diameter of the cataract plaques were measured using vernier cursor. The eyes of cataract models were also treated with 25 mmol/L DTT (n = 89), pirenoxine eye drops (PDE, Japan, n = 22), pirenoxine sodium eye drops (PSED, China, n = 24, 2 died during the experiment), and normal saline (n = 45). Each eye was administered with 1 drop/time, 4 times/day for 3 weeks. Then slit lamp was used to examine the cortical lesions of both eye and the lens opacity. Results: The DTT eye drops significantly reduced the diameter of the cataract plaques and significantly reduced the rate of the cortical opacity after the nuclear cataract. The inhibitory action of DTT eye drops on the selenite-induced cataract was superior to pirenoxine eye drops(Japan) and pirenoxine sodium eye drops(China). Conclusion: Our study shows that the DTT eye drops has satisfactory inhibitory action on selenite-induced cataract in rats.