Cataracts continue to pose a serious health issue worldwide, impacting millions of people globally. Protheragen's comprehensive services in cataract diagnostics and therapeutics development offer a robust platform for advancing research and innovation in this field.
Cataracts are known to be one of the common disorders of the eye, and it can be defined as the blurriness in the lens of an eye, as a result of this, the vision quality of an individual is compromised. This condition is one of the prominent reasons which lead to needless blindness across the globe, where age related cataracts stand to be the most prevalent among the types. With age, the changes of developing cataracts also increase and almost 93% of the people who are above the age of 80 have cataracts.
Fig.1 Possible pathways for inherited cataracts. (Shiels A., et al., 2019)The protein's lenses crystallin get denatured and particle by particle, cataract develops. This, in combination with oxidative stress, genetic mutations, and environmental components like ultraviolet radiation and smoking, aggravates the situation. These factors cause the lens to lose its clarity which results in distortions in color, glares, and blurred vision.
Table 1. Summary of in vitro and ex vivo studies of cataractogenesis. (Heruye S. H., et al., 2020)
| Class | Drugs Tested | Cataract Stimuli | Tissue | Pharmacological Action |
| Antioxidants | GSH | H2O2 (10 mM) | Goat lenses | Increased lenticular antioxidant defense enzymes and decreased malondialdehyde levels |
| Alpha-tocopherol, lutein and zeaxanthin | H2O2 (100 µM) | Human lens epithelial cells | Alpha-tocopherol, lutein, and zeaxanthin protected lens protein, lipid, and DNA from oxidative damage. In contrast to alpha-tocopherol, GSH depletion was not alleviated by lutein and zeaxanthin. | |
| Vitamin C or vitamin E | Buthionine sulfoximine (25–200 µM) therapeutic followed by H2O2 (0–800 µM) | Rabbit lens epithelial cells | Vitamin C (25-50 µM) or vitamin E (5-40 µM) when applied as a pretreatment, renewed the ability of depleted GSH cells to tolerate H2O2 while maintaining GSH concentration in a reduced state. | |
| Alpha lipoic acid | H2O2 (0.2 mM) | Adult Sprague-Dawley rat lenses | Inhibited lens' epithelial cell apoptosis and activated lenticular anti-oxidative enzymes. | |
| Alpha- tocopherol | Glucose (55 mM) | Goat lenses | Increased water-soluble protein content and Na+-K+-ATPase activity while reducing malondialdehyde levels. | |
| Ketoacids and amino acid antioxidants | N-acetylcysteine amide | Dexamethasone (5 µM) | Sprague-Dawley rat lenses | Elevated GSH/GSSG ratio and limiting lipid peroxidation |
| N-acetylcysteine amide | Exposure to hyperoxia- | Rabbit lenses | Increased GSH and water-soluble protein content. However, it lowered Na+, K+-ATPase, and CAT activity. | |
| Acetyl-l-carnitine | Sodium Selenite (100 µM) | Wistar rat lenses | Augmented CAT and GSH-Px activity while reducing malondialdehyde levels. | |
| Propolis | Glucose (55 mM) | Rat lens epithelial cells | Propolis (5 and 50 μg/mL) attenuated both the glucose (55 mM)-induced elevation in the expression of reactive oxygen species and elevation in cell viability. | |
| Plant-derived compounds and Herbal remedies | Quercetin | Glucose (55 mM) | Goat lenses | Increased water-soluble protein content and Na+-K+-ATPase activity while reducing malondialdehyde levels. |
| Green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves extract | Sodium selenite (100 µM) | Wistar rat lenses | Preserved SOD, GSH-Px, and CAT activities | |
| Aqueous leaf extract of Abiespindrow | H2O2 | Goat lenses | Extracts with higher content (5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/ml) managed to elevate SOD, GSH, and total protein content while in parallel to that decreasing the levels of malondialdehyde proportionally to both concentration and content. | |
| Ethanol extract of Moringa oliefera | Glucose (55 mM) | Goat lenses | Extracts (200 µg/mL and 500 µg/mL) reduced malondialdehyde levels and increased lenticular CAT, GSH, and total and soluble protein. | |
| Aqueous extract of Trigonellafoenum-graecum (Fenugreek) | Sodium selenite (100 µM) | Wistar rat lenses | Restored GSH and activities of SOD, GSH-Px, and GST while decreasing malondialdehyde levels. | |
| Fruit extract of Luffa cylindrica | H2O2 (0.5 mM) | Goat lenses | Increased SOD, GSH, and total protein content while lowering malondialdehyde content. | |
| Ocimum sanctum | Sodium selenite (100 µM) | Wistar rat lenses | Increased SOD, GSH-Px, GST, and CAT. |
Disclaimer: Protheragen focuses on providing preclinical research service. This table is for information exchange purposes only. This table is not a treatment plan recommendation. For guidance on treatment options, please visit a regular hospital.
Comprehensive services for the development of cataract diagnostics and therapeutics are offered by Protheragen. We provide an all-encompassing perspective on cataract therapeutics, from primary research to preclinical development.
Protheragen's preclinical research capabilities extend to the comprehensive assessment of potential therapeutic candidates. We conduct in-depth pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, as well as safety and efficacy evaluations, to build a robust data package that supports the translation of promising cataract therapies into clinical development. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.
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