Abstract
Purpose :
This study was designed to evaluate the effect of rosmarinic acid and β-cyclodextrin on lens clarity in zebrafish with induced cataracts. As an important model organism, zebrafish offer opportunities to investigate basic as well as medical research questions in the field of cataractogenesis. Recent studies using rat and human lens tissue have shown restoration of transparency and delayed cataract formation in response to rosmarinic acid application. In addition, β-cyclodextrins have been used as stabilizers and carrier molecules when introducing antioxidants into biological systems. We have previously developed a method for the induction of cataracts in adult zebrafish which was used to produce cataracts in our study animals. We treated extracted cataractous and healthy lenses with rosmarinic acid as well as β-cyclodextrin, and assessed lens clarity in response to various treatment combinations compared to controls.
Methods :
Adult zebrafish were subjected to unilateral intraocular injection of 3% hydrogen peroxide to induce cataracts. At 24 hours post-injection, fish were anesthetized for observation of cataract severity, and euthanized for extraction of both healthy and cataractous lenses. Extracted lenses were then incubated with various concentrations of rosmarinic acid and β-cyclodextrin. Lens clarity was assessed by photography of the lens placed over a grid and evaluation of opacity against a standardized scale.
Results :
Using a scoring scale of 1 to 4, observations showed delayed development of opacification in healthy lenses incubated in some concentrations of rosmarinic acid and β-cyclodextrin when compared to controls, 48 to 72 hours after extraction.
Conclusions :
These results support the findings in other species that rosmarinic acid may be an effective agent for preventing lens opacification. This preventative effect was detected in healthy lenses, but treatments did not significantly affect lens clarity in cataractous lenses. In addition, this study demonstrates that our method of inducing cataracts in zebrafish is a tractable experimental system.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.