title: Estimation of structural changes in the cataractous rat lens using Raman spectroscopy.
abstract: For quantitative evaluation of cataract-related changes in lens proteins and lens water, the relative contents of water and SH residues and changes in the microenvironments of aromatic amino acid residues were quantitatively examined in cataract of the rat lens which had been induced by sodium selenite. Using Raman spectroscopy, results were compared with those of age-matched control lenses. The relative contents of water and SH residues decreased with increasing age in normal lenses from 3 to 8 weeks of age. In the cataractous lens, the relative water content increased constantly as compared with that of age-matched controls. The relative SH residue content continued to decline in the cataractous lenses of animals at every age. The microenvironments of tyrosine residues in cataractous lenses also changed progressively.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Drug Safety, Setsunan University, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Horikiri
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Narama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ozaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism; D002386:Cataract / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D003459:Crystallins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D003459:Crystallins