Effect of Geranylgeranylacetone on Ultraviolet Radiation Type B-Induced Cataract in Heat-Shock Transcription Factor 1 Heterozygous Mouse

Purpose: We investigated whether heat-shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) was involved in ultraviolet radiation type B (UVR-B)-induced lens opacity (cataract) using HSF1 heterozygous mice. We also examined the effects of geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), an inducer of heat-shock proteins via activation of HSF, on the UVR-B-induced cataract.Material and Methods: Male HSF1(+/-) and WT mice were unilaterally exposed to UVR-B (total: 1200mJ) at 16 weeks of age. At 48 h after the last UVR-B irradiation, the lens was isolated and the induction of the cataract was quantified as the cataract area ratio (opacity area/anterior capsule). GGA was orally administered at a dosage of 500 mg/kg once a day for two days before the first UVR-B exposure until the end of the experiment (21days in total).Results: The HSF1 expression was more greatly decreased in the lens from HSF1(+/-) mice than in that from WT mice (p < 0.01). UVR-B exposure could mainly induce cataracts in the anterior capsule in both HSF1(+/-) and WT mice, while the opacity of the lens was markedly enhanced in HSF1+/- mice compared to that in WT mice(p (0.01). GGA treatment could prevent the induction of lens opacity by UVR-B exposure in both WT and HSF1(+/-) mice as compared with the non-administration group (p < 0.01). No obvious alteration by the UVR-B radiation was seen in lens protein levels of A-crystallin, B-crystallin, or-crystallin with or without GGA administration among all groups of mice. In contrast to the crystallins, the lens protein level of HSP25 was decreased by UVR-B exposure in both HSF1(+/-) and WT mice, and was significantly recovered in WT mice by the GGA treatment (p < 0.01). The induction of HSP25 was suppressed in HSF1(+/-) mice compared with that in WT mice.Conclusions: These data suggest that HSF1 plays an important role in the occurrence of UVR-B-induced cataracts, possibly via regulation of HSPs such as HSP25.