[Analysis of proteins during recovery from lens opacity--analysis of selenite cataract model using Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rat].

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The cataract in Sprague-Dawley rats injected with selenite is a dense nuclear opacity that appears by 4 or 5 days after selenite injection and becomes irreversible by 7 days. Injection of Wistar rats with selenite resulted in a similar nuclear opacity by 4 or 5 days that began to recover transparency by 7 days. In this report, the cytoplasmic proteins were analyzed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in lenses from Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats at 4 and 7 days after injection.

RESULTS

In the opaque lens cells, degradation of the 31 kDa protein and cytoskeletal proteins (vimentin, spectrin, and actin) was observed during cataract development using SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. During recovery from opacity, the decreased 31 kDa protein and the vimentin increased.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that the 31 kDa protein and the vimentin may be important for recovery of transparency in a reversible model of cataract formation.