-Coumaric Acid Protects Human Lens Epithelial Cells against Oxidative Stress-Induced Apoptosis by MAPK Signaling.

To protect against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis in lens epithelial cells is a potential strategy in preventing cataract formation. The present study aimed at studying the protective effect and underlying mechanisms of -coumaric acid (-CA) on hydrogen peroxide- (HO-) induced apoptosis in human lens epithelial (HLE) cells (SRA 01-04). Cells were pretreated with -CA at a concentration of 3, 10, and 30 M before the treatment of HO (275 M). Results showed that pretreatment with -CA significantly protected against HO-induced cell death in a dose-dependent manner, as well as downregulating the expressions of both cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 in HLE cells. Moreover, -CA also greatly suppressed HO-induced intracellular ROS production and mitochondrial membrane potential loss and elevated the activities of T-SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px of HO-treated cells. As well, study showed that -CA also suppressed HO-induced phosphorylation of p-38, ERK, and JNK in HLE cells. These findings demonstrate that -CA suppresses HO-induced HLE cell apoptosis through modulating MAPK signaling pathways and suggest that -CA has a potential therapeutic role in the prevention of cataract.