{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T13:39:20Z","timestamp":1785418760853,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782086400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006769","name":"Russian Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["25-14-00035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25-14-00035"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006769","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["25-14-00035"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["25-14-00035"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03y2gwe85","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study aimed to characterize metabolomic changes in the eye lens of senescence-accelerated OXYS rats in comparison with control Wistar rats, and to identify biochemical shifts associated with genotype, age, and cataract progression. Cataract severity was clinically graded. Rats\u2019 lenses were analyzed using quantitative 1H NMR spectroscopy at 3.6 and approximately 4.5 months of age. A total of 43 metabolites were quantified. We found that at 3.6 months of age, OXYS lenses exhibited a significant accumulation of 17 metabolites, primarily amino acids, compared to Wistar rats, suggesting an imbalance between amino acid uptake and crystallin biosynthesis. However, by 4.5 months, OXYS lenses exhibited rapid metabolic changes characterized by significant decreases in amino acid, glucose, and key energy\/antioxidant markers, including NAD, adenylate energy charge, and hypotaurine. Clinical cataract grade (Grade 2 vs. 3) had a negligible impact on the overall metabolomic profile. Our results indicate that profound metabolic reorganization, including an initial amino acid excess followed by energy and antioxidant depletion, precedes the morphological manifestation of cataracts in OXYS rats. We suggest that a biochemical \u201cpoint of no return\u201d occurs early in cataractogenesis, while subsequent increase in lens opacification is a secondary consequence of preexisting metabolic disturbances.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules31122194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T08:19:52Z","timestamp":1782202792000},"page":"2194","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Metabolomic Changes in the Rat Eye Lens During the Cataract Onset"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"31","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9089-1924","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga A.","family":"Snytnikova","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"International Tomography Center, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya Str. 3a, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anton A.","family":"Smolentsev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Tomography Center, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya Str. 3a, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2398-8544","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nataliya G.","family":"Kolosova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Lavrentiev Avenue 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anzhella Z.","family":"Fursova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Federal Research Center Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Lavrentiev Avenue 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"},{"name":"State Novosibirsk Regional Clinical Hospital, St. Nemirovich-Danchenko 130, 630087 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1380-3000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuri P.","family":"Tsentalovich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Tomography Center, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya Str. 3a, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"697","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1755-3768.2009.01516.x","article-title":"Metabonomics\u2014A new approach in ophthalmology","volume":"87","author":"Midelfart","year":"2009","journal-title":"Acta Ophthalmol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1007\/s12177-009-9038-2","article-title":"Metabolomic analysis of human disease and its application to the eye","volume":"2","author":"Young","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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