Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1537770
This article is part of the Research Topic Ophthalmology meets Microfluidics: Advances in Lab-on-a-chip technologies for Ocular Healthcare View all articles

Ocular Inoculation of Toad Venom: Toxic Cataract and Proteomic Profiling

Provisionally accepted
Danni Lyu Danni Lyu Shuang Ni Shuang Ni Jia Xu Jia Xu Sha Zhu Sha Zhu Jing-wei Xu Jing-wei Xu Yixuan Feng Yixuan Feng Ce Shi Ce Shi Wen Xu Wen Xu *
  • Eye Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    To report a singular case of cataract caused by toad venom inoculation and to scrutinize the pathological mechanisms through proteomic sequencing of the lens specimen. Methods: A young Chinese male presented with progressively deteriorating vision in his right eye subsequent to a history of toad venom inoculation. He was diagnosed with a toxic cataract, and underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Anterior capsule, nucleus, and cortex specimens from the patient (designated as PT_CAP, PT_PHACO, and PT_CTX, respectively) and age-related cataract controls (C_CAP, C_PHACO, and C_CTX, respectively) were collected and subjected to 4D label-free quantitative proteomics. Results: A multitude of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in the patient's lens compared to those in the controls. Specifically, a total of 204 DEPs were identified in PT_CAP compared to C_CAP, with MYH6, MYL2, MYL3, STAT1, and ANK1 among the foremost regulated DEPs. The DEPs of PT_CAP were principally affiliated with functions including "transportation of small molecules", "regulation of metal ion transport", and "import into cell". A sum of 109 DEPs were delineated in PT_CTX compared to C_CTX, with TPM1 among the top-10 downregulated DEPs. Ninety-five DEPs were pinpointed in PT_PHACO compared to C_PHACO, with hexokinase among the top 10 downregulated DEPs. These proteins were ascertained to be linked with Na + /K + -ATPase activity. Conclusion: This study introduced the first documented case of toxic cataract caused by toad venom inoculation. Proteomic sequencing indicated a correlation between cataract and alterations in Na + /K + -ATPase activity, providing insights for the clinical management of ocular toad venom inoculation in subsequent cases.Toad venom; venom inoculation; toxic cataract; 4D label-free quantitative proteomics; Na + /K + -ATPaseThis study presented a rare case of toxic cataract caused by toad venom inoculation, previously unreported in medical literature. 4D label-free quantitative proteomics of the patient's lens sample suggested a potential correlation between cataractogenesis and alterations in Na+/K+-ATPase activity. This study provides valuable insights and references for the clinical management of ocular toad venom inoculation in the future.

    Keywords: Toad venom, venom inoculation, toxic cataract, 4D label-free quantitative proteomics, Na+/K+-ATPase

    Received: 01 Dec 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lyu, Ni, Xu, Zhu, Xu, Feng, Shi and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wen Xu, Eye Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.