Induction of cataract in methylnitrosourea treated Fischer (F344) rats.
Cataracts were observed in female F344 rats who intravenously received methylnitrosourea (MNU), a potent carcinogen for multiple organs, in one dose of 50 mg/kg body weight. Induction of cataract 40 weeks after MNU treatment was 41% whereas no cataract was observed in control rats. The aggregation of beta H-crystallin fraction by MNU was studied in vitro. HPLC pattern of beta H-crystallin changed when lens protein was incubated for 24 hrs with MNU. HPLC patterns indicated that MNU induced high molecular weight aggregates of beta H-crystallin. This study conveys some indication about the direct interaction of MNU with lens protein in cataract formation.
Roy
B
B
Fujimoto
N
N
Watanabe
H
H
Ito
A
A
D000818:Animals; D002386:Cataract / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003459:Crystallins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008770:Methylnitrosourea / Q000633:toxicity*; D011487:Protein Conformation / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D003459:Crystallins; D008770:Methylnitrosourea