Investigation of relation between sirt1 gene expression level and in patient with age related cataract

Age-related cataract is the most important cause of blindness and loss of vision all over the world. Epigenetic modifications have become the focus of interest for cataract development in recent years. Epigenetic modifications, especially over expression of histone deacetylases, play an important role in the development of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer, diabetes as well as ocular diseases. SIRT1 (class II histone deacetylase), a member of the sirtuin family, is one of the best characterized histone deacetylases and has an important role in age-related diseases. However, the association of SIRT1 with age-related cataracts has not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to determine the expression level of SIRT1 gene in age-related cataract patients. Expression levels of SIRT1 gene were evaluated by real-time PCR in patients and healthy controls. RNA samples were collected from the anterior capsule and peripheral blood samples of age-related cataract patients while human lens epithelial cell line HLE B3 cells and peripheral blood samples of healthy subjects were used as controls. According to our study results, it was determined that the expression level of SIRT1 gene in blood and anterior capsule samples increased significantly compared to control (p<0.05). As a result, the expression level of the SIRT1 gene plays an important role in the development of age related cataract and it can be used as a biomarker. Thus, SIRT1 inhibitors can be used in the treatment of age-related cataract disease.