[The chemical nature of the fluorescing products accumulating in the lipids of the crystalline lenses of mice with hereditary cataract].

The content of diene conjugates (lipid hydroperoxides) was shown to be significantly higher in lipids extracted from the lenses of mice with hereditary cataract than in the controls. The same holds true for characteristics of fluorescence of the end-product of lipid peroxidation. Two (low- and high-molecular weight) peaks were detected in chromatographic lipid profile of cataract lenses measured by fluorescence on Sephadex LH-20 column, whereas only one (high-molecular weight) peak was found in lipids from normal lenses. It was established that high-molecular weight fluorescent fractions corresponded to lipid components of lipofuscin-like pigments. NMR and mass spectrometry of low-molecular weight fractions suggested that they contained predominantly products of free radical oxidation of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (C22:6).