Background: With the popularity of blue-rich light-emitting diode (LED)-backlit display devices, our eyes are now exposed to more short-wavelength blue light than they were in the past. The goal of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis of cataracts after short-wavelength light exposure. Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were selected and randomly divided into a control group (10 rats each for the 4-, 8-, and 12-week groups) and an experimental group (10 rats each for the 4-, 8-, and 12-week groups). The rats in the experimental group were exposed to a short-wavelength blue LED lamp for 12 h per day. After exposure to the blue LED lamp, the rats were maintained in total darkness for 12 h, after which a 12-h light/dark cycle was resumed. The intensity of the lamp was 3000 lx. At the end of the short-wavelength blue LED lamp exposure (for 4, 8, and 12 weeks), the expression levels of caspase-1, caspase-11 and gasdermin D (GSDMD) were examined in rat lens epithelial cells (LECs) using qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses. An illuminance of 2500 lx was used to study the potential effect of blue LED light on HLE-B3 hLECs in vitro. AC-YVAD-CMK, a caspase-1 inhibitor, was used to confirm the pyroptosis of LECs by flow cytometry. Results: After 6 weeks, cataracts developed in the experimental rats (4/20 eyes). The clarity of the lens gradually worsened with the duration of exposure. Twelve weeks later, all of the rat eyes had developed cataracts. The expression levels of caspase-1, caspase-11 and GSDMD at 4, 8, and 12 weeks were significantly higher in the samples from rats exposed to a short-wavelength blue LED lamp than in the samples from control rats (p<0.05). The proportions of double-positive hLECs were significantly increased in the 5-h and 10-h short-wavelength blue light exposure subgroups compared with the 5-h and 10-h caspase-1 inhibitor subgroups (p < 0.05).

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Background Cataracts have been verified to be associated with a number of risk factors. The sun and artificial light sources, including light-emitting diode (LED) and fluorescent light tubes, are the primary sources of short-wavelength blue light. With the increasing popularity of blue-rich LED-backlit display devices, our eyes are now exposed to more short-wavelength blue light than they were in the past. The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of short-wavelength blue light in the formation of cataract. Additionally, the pathogenesis of cataracts after short-wavelength light exposure was investigated.Methods SD rats were randomly divided into 2 main groups: a control group (10 rats each for the 4-, 8-, and 12-week groups) and an experimental group (10 rats each for the 4-, 8-, and 12-week groups). The rats in the experimental group were exposed to a short-wavelength blue LED lamp for 12 hours per day. After exposure to the blue LED lamp, the rats were maintained in total darkness for 12 hours, after which a 12-hour light/dark cycle was resumed. The intensity of the lamp was 3000 lux. At the end of the short-wavelength blue LED lamp exposure (for 4, 8, and 12 weeks), the expression levels of caspase-1, caspase-11 and gasdermin D (GSDMD) in rat epithelium cells (LECs) were examined in rat epithelial cells (LECs) using qRT-PCR and Western blotting analyses. Results After 6 weeks, cataracts had developed in the experimental rats (4/20 eyes). The clarity of the lens then gradually worsened with the duration of exposure. Twelve weeks later, all of the rat eyes had developed cataracts. Then the expression levels of caspase-1, caspase-11 and GSDMD at 4, 8, and 12 weeks were significantly higher in samples from rats exposed to a short-wavelength blue LED lamp than samples from control rat (p˂0.05). Conclusion The data indicate that pyroptosis play a key role of in cataracts induced by short-wavelength blue light exposure, highlighting caspase-1, caspase-11 and GSDMD as possible therapeutic targets for cataract treatment. This study might provide new insight into the novel pathogenesis of cataracts.

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12886-020-01565-z.