Autoregenerative redox nanoparticles as an antioxidant and glycation inhibitor for palliation of diabetic cataracts

Diabetic cataracts (DCs) are one of the most common ocular complications of diabetes, and easily causes blindness among diabetics. However, there are limited drugs to delay and prevent DCs. Research studies indicate that oxidative damage of the crystalline lens and nonenzymatic glycosylation of the lens protein play a key role in the pathogenesis of DCs. Hence, we developed a kind of autoregenerative redox nanoparticle, which was CeO2 NPs coated with PEG-PLGA (PCNPs). We first found that PCNPs could work not only as an antioxidant to protect lens epithelial cells from oxidative stress based on the repetitive elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS), but also as a glycation inhibitor effectively restraining α-crystallin glycation and crosslinking, thereby keeping the lens transparent and alleviating DCs. Experimental results successfully validated the fact that the PCNPs were able to operate in eyes for a long time to attenuate lens opacity. We expect that this strategy will provide promising potential for the treatment of DCs.