Dataset Information

Structural Characteristics of the Lens in Presenile Cataract.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this work is to examine the structure of the anterior lens epithelial cells (aLECs) of presenile idiopathic cortical cataract to investigate the possible structural reasons for its development. The anterior lens capsules (aLCs: basement membrane and associated lens epithelial cells) were obtained from routine uneventful cataract surgery of 5 presenile cataract patients (16 and 41 years old women and 29, 39, and 45 years old men). None of the patients had family history of cataract, medication, or trauma and they were otherwise healthy. In addition, the patients did not have any other abnormal features in the ocular status except cataract. The aLCs were prepared for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The most prominent abnormal features observed by SEM for all 5 studied presenile cataract patients were the changes of the aLECs structure with the dents, the selective concavity of some LECs, at their apical side centrally toward the nucleus. In addition, TEM showed the thinning of the lens epithelium with the segmentally concave cells and the compressed and elongated nuclei. Abnormal and distinguishable structural features were observed in the anterior lens epithelium aLECs in all 5 patients with presenile cataract. Disturbed structure of aLECs, regularly present in presenile cataract type is shown that might be associated with water accumulation in the presenile idiopathic cortical cataract lens.

SUBMITTER: Andjelic S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8727346 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The zebrafish has become a valuable model for examining ocular lens development, physiology and disease. The zebrafish cloche mutant, first described for its loss of hematopoiesis, also shows reduced eye and lens size, interruption in lens cell differentiation and a cataract likely caused by abnormal protein aggregation. To facilitate the use of the cloche mutant for studies on cataract development and prevention we characterized variation in the lens phenotype, quantified changes in gene expression by qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq and compared the ability of two promoters to drive expression of introduced proteins into the cloche lens. We found that the severity of cloche embryo lens cataract varied, while the decrease in lens diameter and retention of nuclei in differentiating lens fiber cells was constant. We found very low expression of both αB-crystallin genes (cryaba and cryabb) at 4 days post fertilization (dpf) by both qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq in cloche, cloche sibling and wildtype embryos and no significant difference in αA-crystallin (cryaa) expression. RNA-Seq analysis of 4 dpf embryos identified transcripts from 25,281 genes, with 1,329 showing statistically significantly different expression between cloche and wildtype samples. Downregulation of eight lens β- and γM-crystallin genes and 22 retinal related genes may reflect a general reduction in eye development and growth. Six stress response genes were upregulated. We did not find misregulation of any known components of lens development gene regulatory networks. These results suggest that the cloche lens cataract is not caused by loss of αA-crystallin or changes to lens gene regulatory networks. Instead, we propose that the cataract results from general physiological stress related to loss of hematopoiesis. Our finding that the zebrafish αA-crystallin promoter drove strong GFP expression in the cloche lens demonstrates its use as a tool for examining the effects of introduced proteins on lens crystallin aggregation and cataract prevention.

Dataset Information

Structural Characteristics of the Lens in Presenile Cataract.

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