ABSTRACT
The number of people suffering from atopic dermatitis, a recent social problem believed to have arisen from environmental pollution and changes, continues to increase today, and these patients often encounter complications such as cataract and retinal detachment. In this study, I have conducted (1) a comparative study on the rate of cell proliferation between lens epithelial cells (LECs) obtained from 7 atopic cataractous lenses and from 1 normal lens, (2) a comparative study on cell density and alignment between LECs obtained from 5 nonatopic cataractous lenses and from 5 atopic cataractous lenses and (3) transmission electron microscopy of LECs obtained from 3 atopic cataractous lenses. My findings were as follows: (1) except for 1 case disclosing increased proliferative activity of the cells to become multilayered, LECs of atopic cataractous lenses showed diminished proliferative activity; (2) LECs of atopic cataractous lenses had decreased in cell density and revealed irregular cell alignment; (3) transmission electron microscopy of LECs of atopic cataractous lenses demonstrated multilayered cells, increased intercellular spaces, and degeneration and disappearance of some cells. A longer follow-up period and further studies using cells from additional atopic cataractous lenses are necessary before any conclusions can be drawn. However, obtaining human LECs especially of atopic cataract patients is not easy, and I do feel that my present study, although its number of patients may not be large enough, provides significant findings for further studies on the mechanism of atopic cataract formation.
Subject(s)
Cataract/pathology , Dermatitis, Atopic/pathology , Epithelial Cells/ultrastructure , Lens, Crystalline/ultrastructure , Adolescent , Adult , Cataract/complications , Cataract Extraction , Cell Count , Cell Differentiation , Cell Division , Dermatitis, Atopic/complications , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Lens, Crystalline/surgery , Random AllocationABSTRACT
The expression of FGFR 1, 2 and 3 but not FGFR 4 was detected in bovine lens epithelial cells. FGFR 1 expression of both the 2-lg and 3-lg forms was detected by a difference in the lengths of the PCR products. Furthermore, mRNA which included or excluded six nucleotides corresponding to two amino acids in the acid box region of FGFR 1 was detected by a difference in mobility of the homo- and hetero-duplex strands formed in the PCR reaction.
Subject(s)
Fibroblast Growth Factors/metabolism , Lens Capsule, Crystalline/chemistry , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases , Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor/genetics , Animals , Base Sequence , Cattle , Clone Cells , DNA Primers , Electrophoresis , Epithelial Cells , Epithelium/metabolism , Genetic Vectors , Lens Capsule, Crystalline/cytology , Molecular Sequence Data , Nucleic Acid Heteroduplexes , Polymerase Chain Reaction , RNA, Messenger/chemistry , Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 1 , Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor/metabolism , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
Using light and transmission electron microscopy, we have performed a histopathological evaluation of the anterior lens capsule, isolated during cataract extraction from an eye revealing a cellophane-like membrane on the lens surface of the pupil area. In addition to light microscopy showing one third of the anterior capsule had partially detached, transmission electron microscopy demonstrated irregular alignment of capsular structure near the detached regions. These microscopic features, together with clinical findings, led us to believe that this is a case of true exfoliation.
Subject(s)
Exfoliation Syndrome/pathology , Lens Capsule, Crystalline/ultrastructure , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Lenses, Intraocular , Phacoemulsification , Retinal Detachment/diagnosisABSTRACT
The aqueous humor supplies the lens with nutrition. Recently, the existence of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF) has been confirmed in the human aqueous humor. For this reason, it was thought that the function of these growth factors was related to the physiological condition of the lens epithelial cells (LEC). Therefore, we looked for the existence of receptors for EGF, FGF, and the internalization of EGF and b-FGF using LEC from human cataractous lenses in immunohistochemistry. We confirmed the existence of receptors for EGF and FGF as well as the internalization of EGF and b-FGF. From these results. We inferred that the function of EGF and b-FGF was strongly related to the physiological condition of LEC.
Subject(s)
Epidermal Growth Factor/metabolism , Fibroblast Growth Factor 2/metabolism , Lens, Crystalline/metabolism , Aged , Cataract/metabolism , Epithelium/metabolism , ErbB Receptors/metabolism , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Lens, Crystalline/cytology , Middle Aged , Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor/metabolismABSTRACT
The growth promoting effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) was studied in cultures of epithelial cells from human normal and cataractous lenses. The growth potential of lens epithelial cells was measured by MTT assay. The concentration of EGF in culture medium were classified into 7 groups (0 ng/ml-10(3) ng/ml). When the concentration of EGF was 1 ng/ml, EGF induced the highest increase of growth potential epithelial cells compared with an EGF-free group.