International Journal of Pharmacology1811-77751812-5700Asian Network for Scientific Information10.3923/ijp.2018.913.921ZhouDing ZhangYi XueDaxi LiuPing 72018147Background and Aim: Cataracts have the highest incidence among eye diseases, particularly blindness. Quercetin as a major flavonoid in the diet, can prevent cataracts. This study was aimed at investigating the molecular mechanism of the protective effects of quercetin in selenium-induced cataracts in Wistar rat. Materials and Methods: Ten-day old Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups, all treated by intraperitoneal injection with 20 μM kg1 sodium selenite to induce cataracts. The groups were a model group with no further treatment (A), a heated bath group (B), an Alanine-Glutamine treatment group (1.125 g kg1; group, C) and a quercetin treatment group (400 mg kg1, i.p., D). Expression level of HSP70 was determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. 8-Hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were assessed by ELISA assay. Results: The selenium-induced cataract model in rats was established successfully. The expression level of HSP70 in the groups B and C was significantly higher than that in group A. In contrast, the expression level of HSP70 in group D was significantly lower than that in group A (p<0.05). 8-OHdG levels in lens epithelial cells of group D were significantly lower than those in the cells of group A (p<0.05). CAT and SOD activities were enhanced to a much greater extent in group D than in group A (p<0.05). Conclusion: Quercetin has a protective effect on selenium-induced cataracts and probably modulates the expression of HSP70 to maintain homeostasis of oxidative stress.]]>Wu, X., E. Long, H. Lin and Y. Liu,20162016Guan, H.J., Y. Yao, C.K. Liang, R.R. Zhu and B.H. Liu et al.,201393330335Bastawrous, A., W.H. Dean and J.C. Sherwin,20139712371243Thomas, B.J., D.S. Sanders, M.S. Oliva, M.S. Orrs and P. Glick et al.,201610011571162Ghahramani, M., R. Yousefi, K. Khoshaman and M.M. Alavianmehr,2015125170180Vinson, J.A.,200613151162Erol Tinaztepe, O., M. Ay and E. Eser,201742583588Baghel, S.S., N. Shrivastava, R.S. Baghel, P. Agrawal and S. Rajput,20121146160Bhadada, S.V., V.J. Bhadada and R.K. Goyal,2016Tephrosia purpurea on selenite-induced experimental cataract.]]>41222231Cornish, K.M., G. Williamson and J. Sanderson,2002336370Sharma, P., A.B. Jha, R.S. Dubey and M. Pessarakli,20122012Andreazza, A.C., J.F. Wang, F. Salmasi, L. Shao and L.T. Young,2013127552561Valavanidis, A., T. Vlachogianni and C. Fiotakis,200927120139Ates, O., H.H. Alp, I. Kocer, O. Baykal and I.A. Salman,201088891895Chang, D., X. Zhang, S. Rong, Q. Sha, P. Liu, T. Han and H. Pan,20132013Kregel, K.C.,20029221772186Manikandan, R., M. Beulaja, R. Thiagarajan and M. Arumugam,201117388394Ozgen, S.C., D. Dokmeci, M. Akpolat, C.H. Karadag and O. Gunduz et al.,201229358363Anitha, T.S., A.R. Muralidharan, T. Annadurai, C.A.N. Jesudasan, P.A. Thomas and P. Geraldine,2013Cineraria maritima in preventing selenite-induced cataractogenesis in Wistar rat pups.]]>1925512560Hu, X., H. Tan and L. Hao,2016644352Stefek, M. and C. Karasu,201114525534Doganay, S., M. Borazan, M. Iraz and Y. Cigremis,200631147153Padmaja, S. and T.N. Raju,200442601603Doganay, S., Y. Turkoz, C. Evereklioglu, H. Er, M. Bozaran and E. Ozerol,20022814571462Xu, B., L. Kang, G. Zhang, J. Wu, R. Zhu, M. Yang and H. Guan,201540378385Elbe, H., Z. Dogan, E. Taslidere, A. Cetin and Y. Turkoz,201535276281Celik, N., A. Vurmaz and A. Kahraman,201633291296Bagchi, M., M. Ireland, M. Katar and H. Maisel,200182409414Yao, K., H. Rao, R. Wu, X. Tang and W. Xu,200612445450Bornheim, R., M. Muller, U. Reuter, H. Herrmann, H. Bussow and T.M. Magin,200812137373746Yang, J., Y. Ren, Q. Zhao, T. Zhao, Y. Wang and X. Wang,201451215Koyama, S., E. Narita, Y. Shimizu, Y. Suzuki and T. Shiina et al.,20162016Zhang, W., Z. Liu, X. Bao, Y. Qin, A. Taylor, F. Shang and M. Wu,201515652662Evans, T.G., Z. Belak, N. Ovsenek and P.H. Krone,2007146131140Bao, H.G., W.Z. Zhang, L. Ma, T. Li, F. Wang and Y.Q. Chen,201341320326