The protective effects of aspirin on the α-crystalline molecular chaperone-like activity in naphthalene-induced cataract

Background Age-related cataract is the leading cause of visual impairment worldwide.To seek the effective prevention and drugs for management of cataract is important.Naphthalene-induced cataract of rat is an ideal animal model for the research of human age-related cataract,and aspirin has been proven to inhibit the development of human age-related cataract.ObjectiveThe present study is to investigate the role of aspirin on naphthalene-induced cataract.Methods Forty-five 150-160 g female SD rats were divided into three groups randomly.Naphthalene was orally taken with 0.5mg/kg per day for 3 days and then 1mg/kg per day for 70 days,and then 100mg/kg of aspirin was given per day for 70 days following four-day washout period in group A.In group B,the animals was given orally only naphthalene at the same way.No any intervention was used in group C.Naphthalene-induced cataract was examined under the slim lamp every week.The experimental animals were sacrificed and lenses were obtained in 70 days.α-Crystalline was extracted from lens homogenate and purified and identified using High Performance Liquid Chromatography(HPLC),2-dimentional electrophoresis gel and Western blot.Different abilities of α-crystalline to protect β low crystalline from aggregation were observed using ultraviolet spectrophotometer.Results Naphthalene-induced cataract formed at the third week in only naphthalene group but at the sixth week in naphthalene+aspirin group under the slim lamp.No significant difference was found in the degree of lenses opacity in the second week among these three groups(F=0.032,P=0.969).However,a statistically significant difference was seen in the degree of lenses opacity in the fourth,sixth,eighth and tenth week among these three groups(F= 5031.130,P=0.000;F=115964.000,P=0.000;F=169846.500,P=0.000;F= 195431.200,P=0.000).Themolecular chaperone-like activity was significantly higher than that of the naphthalene-induced group.Conclusion Aspirin delays the progression of lens opacification through protecting α-crystalline molecular chaperone-like activity. Key words: naphthalene-induced cataract; aspirin; α-crystalline; molecular chaperone-like activity