Effects of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers on Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Cataracts

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the role of oxidative stress produced by the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in cataract formation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ) using angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs). Rats were treated with streptozotocin and orally administered candesartan (2.5 mg/kg/day) or a normal diet for 10 weeks until sacrifice. Cataract progression was assessed through a slit-lamp examination. Animals were euthanized at 18 weeks, and the degree of cataract progression was evaluated. Oxidative stress was also assessed. In STZ-treated rats, lens opacity occurred at 12 weeks. Cataract progression was inhibited in the ARB-treated group compared with the placebo group (p < 0.05). STZ-treated rats exhibited upregulated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene expression than control rats. Oxidative stress-related factors were upregulated in the placebo-treated group but suppressed in the ARB-treated group. A correlation coefficient test revealed a positive correlation between ACE gene expression and oxidative stress-related factors and a negative correlation between ACE and superoxide dismutase. Immunostaining revealed oxidative stress-related factors and advanced glycation end products in the lens cortex of the placebo-treated group. The mechanism of diabetic cataracts may be related to RAS, and the increase in focal ACE and angiotensin II in the lens promotes oxidative stress-related factor production.