Abstract
Photochemical generation of reactive species of oxygen in the lens and aqueous and consequent physiological damage to the tissue has been implicated in the genesis of human cataracts. The present studies were undertaken to examine the feasibility of possible prevention of such damage to the lens initiated by UV activation of kynurenine, a well-known photosensitizer in the human lens. The studies were done by organ culturing intact mouse lenses in medium containing kynurenine and exposed to UVA. Tissue damage was assessed by the inhibition of its ability to carry active transport of rubidium ions and the associated decrements in the levels of GSH and ATP. These deleterious effects were significantly prevented by caffeine, an alkaloid present in many common beverages and known to chemically deactivate the said oxygen derivatives. Further studies on the pharmacological significance of the findings are hence in progress.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Varma SD, Ets TK, Richards RD (1977) Protection against superoxide radicals in rat lens. Ophthalmic Res 9:421–431
Bhuyan DK, Bhuyan KC (1978) Superoxide dismutase of the eye: relative functions of superoxide dismutase and catalase in protecting the ocular lens from oxidative damage. Biochim Biophys Acta 542:28–38
Zigler JS Jr, Goosey JD (1984) Singlet oxygen as a possible factor in human senile nuclear cataract. Curr Eye Res 3:39–45
Fridovich I (1975) Superoxide dismutases. Ann Rev Biochem 44:147–159
Halliwell B (1981) The biological effects of the superoxide radical and its products. Bull Euro Physiopathol Respir 17(Suppl):21–29
Varma SD, Kumar S, Richards RD (1979) Light induced damage to ocular lens cation pump. Prevention by Vitamin C. Proc Natl Acad Sci 76:3504–3506
Varma SD, Chand D, Sharma YR, Kuck JF Jr, Richards RD (1984) Oxidative stress on lens and cataract formation: role of light and oxygen. Curr Eye Res 3:35–57
Kinsey VE, Fishman CE (1951) Studies in the crystalline lens. Distribution of cytochrome, total riboflavin, lactate and pyruvate and their metabolic significance. Arch Ophthalmol 46:536–541
Philpot FJ, Pirie A (1943) Riboflavin adenine di-nucleotide in ox ocular tissue. Biochem J 37:250–254
Van Heyningen R (1971) Fluorescent derivatives of 3-hydroxy-l-kynurenine in the lens of man, the baboon and the grey squirrel. Biochem J 123:30P–31P
Herrmann GP, Brenneisen M, Wlaschek J, Wenk K, Faisst G, Quel C et al (1998) Psoralen photoactivation promotes morphological and functional changes in fibroblasts in vitro reminiscent of cellular senescence. J Cell Sci 111:759–767
Chiarugi A, Rapizzi E, Moroni F, Moroni F (1999) The kynurenine metabolic pathway in the eye: studies on 3-hydroxykynurenine, a putative cataractogenic compound. FEBS Lett 443:197–200
Reszka KJ, Bilske P, Chigness CF, Dillon J (1996) Free radical reactions photosensitized by the human lens component, kynurenine: an EPR and spin trapping investigation. Free Radic Biol Med 20:23–24
Varma SD, Hegde KR, Kovtun S (2008) UV-B-induced damage to the lens in vitro: prevention by caffeine. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther 24:439–444
Harris JH, Becker B (1965) Cation transport of the lens. Invest Ophthalmol 4:710–722
Strehler BJ, Totter JK (1954) Determination of ATP and related compounds: firefly luminescence and other methods. In: Glick D (ed) Methods of biochemical analysis, vol 1. Interscience Publishers, New York, p 341
Ellman GL (1959) Tissue sulphydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys 82:70–77
Taylor HR, West SK, Rosenthal FS, Munoz B, Newland HS, Abbey H, Emmett EA (1988) Effect of ultraviolet radiation on cataract formation. N Engl J Med 319:1429–1433
Ultraviolet radiation: solar radiation and human health. Too much sun is dangerous. www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs227/en
Julian J, Chytil F (1970) Participation of xanthine oxidase in the activation of liver tryptophan pyrrolase. J Biol Chem 245:1161–1168
Yamamoto S, Hayashi O (1967) Tryptophan pyrrolase of rabbit intestine 242:5260–5266
Han Q, Beerntsen BT, Li J (2007) The tryptophan oxidation pathway in mosquitoes with emphasis on xanthurenic acid biosynthesis. J Insect Physiol 53:254–263
Haber F, Weiss J (1934) The catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by iron salts. Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 147:332–351
Varma SD (1987) Ascorbic acid and the eye with special reference to the lens. Ann N Y Acad Sci 498:280–306
Varma SD, Mizuno A, Kinoshita JH (1977) Diabetic cataracts and flavonoids. Science 195:205–206
Trevithick JR, Linklater HA, Mitton KP, Dzialoszynski T, Sanford SE (1989) Modeling cortical cataractogenesis: IX. Activity of vitamin E and esters in preventing cataracts and gamma-crystallin leakage from lenses in diabetic rats. Ann N Y Acad Sci 570:358–371
Ayala MN, Michael R, Söderberg PG (2000) In vivo cataract after repeated exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Exp Eye Res 70:451–456
Ayala MN, Söderberg PG (2004) Vitamin E can protect against ultraviolet radiation-induced cataract in albino rats. Ophthalmic Res 36:264–269
Valero MP, Fletcher AE, Stavols BLD et al (2002) Vitamin C is associated with reduced risk of cataract in a Mediterranean population. J Nutr 132:1299–1306
Jacques PG, Chylack LT Jr, Haskinson SE, Khu PM et al (2001) Long term nutrient intake and early age related nuclear lens opacities. Arch Ophthalmol 119:1009–1019
Robertson JM, Donner AP, Trevithick JR (1991) A possible role for vitamin C and E in cataract prevention. Am J Clin Nutr 53(1 suppl):3465–3515
Devasagayam TPA, Kamat JP, Mohan H, Kesavan PC (1996) Caffeine as an antioxidant: inhibition of lipid peroxidation induced by reactive oxygen species. Biochim Biophys Acta 1282:63–70
Shi X, Dalal NS, Jain AC (1991) Antioxidant behavior of caffeine: efficient scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. Food Chem Toxicol 29:1–6
Stadler RH, Fay LB (1995) Antioxidative reactions of caffeine: formation of 8-oxocaffeine (1,3,7 trimethyl uric acid) in coffee subjected to oxidative stress. J Agric Food Chem 43:1332–1338
Wolff SP, Dean RT (1987) Glucose autoxidation and protein modification. The potential role of ‘autoxidative glycosylation’ in diabetes. Biochem J 245:243–250
Varma SD, Hegde KR (in press) Prevention of oxidative damage to lens by caffeine. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank NEI, NIH for financial support through RO1 EY01292 grant, and Svitlana Kovtun for technical support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Varma, S.D., Hegde, K.R. Kynurenine-induced photo oxidative damage to lens in vitro: protective effect of caffeine. Mol Cell Biochem 340, 49–54 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-010-0399-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-010-0399-4