Effects of UV-cutting filters on aggregation of lens protein.

Physicochemical changes of the lens protein produced by UV light may be considered to be one of the pathogenic factors in the development of cataract. The effect of filters to eliminate these changes were investigated and evaluated using an in vitro system. UV irradiation caused degradation of alpha-crystallin to proteins with lower molecular weight, and thus the crystallin did not show insolubility. beta H- and beta L-crystallin showed insolubilization and aggregation with yellow coloration by photooxidation. The S-S linkage produced by oxidation of the SH group caused gamma-crystallin to aggregate and become insoluble. These chemical changes are prevented significantly by the UV-cutting colored filters.