What is a common metabolic cause of cataracts in diabetic dogs?

Sorbitol accumulation is a significant metabolic cause of cataracts in diabetic dogs due to the hyperglycemic environment created by diabetes mellitus. In diabetic conditions, elevated blood glucose levels lead to increased influx of sugar into the lens of the eye. In the lens, the enzyme aldose reductase converts glucose into sorbitol. Since sorbitol cannot easily exit the lens, it accumulates, leading to osmotic and oxidative stress within the lens fibers. This stress results in cellular damage, changes in the lens structure, and ultimately the formation of cataracts.

The other options mention processes that can occur in different contexts, such as protein liquefaction, which is more related to the breakdown of lens proteins in age-related or traumatic cataracts rather than a direct metabolic cause related to diabetes. Inherited biochemical changes typically relate to genetic predispositions to cataracts that may have no direct link with diabetes. Age-related degeneration is a common cause of cataracts but is instead characterized by changes associated with the normal aging process, rather than metabolic disturbances from high glucose levels seen in diabetic dogs.