Hydrogen peroxide in the eye lens: radioisotopic determination

Abstract

Lenses from normal rabbits, mice, rats, cattle, guinea pigs, lambs, chicken, cats, baboons, blue acara (fish) and dogs were examined for the presence of H₂O₂. No previous reports exist on the presence and levels of H₂O₂ in normal eye lenses. Freshly isolated lenses of these animals were extracted with trichloroacetic acid and the extract neutralized with Tris. H₂O₂ was assayed in these extracts by reacting them with l-¹⁴C-alpha-ketoglutarate and measuring the ¹⁴CO₂ produced by peroxide-dependent decarboxylation. Peroxide of the order of 10-⁻⁴M was detected in most of the lenses except in baboons wherein it exists between 10-⁻⁴ and 10-⁻⁵M. Culture experiments with rat lenses demonstrated that GSH may make a major contribution to the formation of H₂O₂ in the intact lens in vivo.