Comparative potential of hydrocortisone, deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone in the prevention of cataract: an in silico and in vitro study

Abstract

Cataract is visual impairment which arises due to disturbance of lens transparency due to aggregation of the protein. Currently, surgery is the only choice for the treatment of cataract. Thus, there is a need for new drugs in the prevention of cataract. In the current investigation, we have checked the potential of hydrocortisone, deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone against cataract by using in silico and in vitro studies. The structure of a desired target (aldose reductase) has been selected and extracted from Protein Data Bank ( http://www.rcsb.org/pdb ). The structures of various ligands (hydrocortisone, deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone) have been drawn by using Chem Draw Ultra 12.0 software. The docking was performed in a Mole Gro Virtual Docker version 6.0. The cataract was induced by using glucose under in vitro conditions and anti-cataract potential of selected drugs have been analysed by assessing various biochemical parameters. In silico studies have revealed that hydrocortisone, deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone have good binding interaction with aldose reductase. Further, in vitro studies have been shown the anti-cataract potential of steroidal drugs. The oxidative stress induced by glucose was decreased more significantly in the lens treated with dexamethasone as compared to deoxycorticosterone and hydrocortisone. Further, the protein level was significantly increased after treatment with dexamethasone which indicates its more anti-cataract potential as compared to deoxycorticosterone and hydrocortisone. In conclusion, dexamethasone has potential to prevent the cataract as compared to hydrocortisone and deoxycorticosterone. However, further studies are needed to confirm its complete role as anti-cataract drug.