Lee Eunjoo H, Wan Xiu Hua, Song Jeongmin, Kang Jimmy Jaeyoung, Cho Jin Won, Seo Kyoung Y, Lee Joon H
Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yong-In, Korea.
Mol Vis. 2002 Jul 11;8:235-40.
In light of the growing body of data implicating apoptosis in cataractogenesis, and in particular, the reported detection of apoptosis in posterior capsular opacification, the purported etiology of which, like that of anterior polar cataracts, is an aberrant transdifferentiation of lens epithelial cells into myofibroblastic cells, we hypothesized that apoptosis could also occur in anterior polar cataracts. Here we sought to examine whether apoptotic cell death occurs in lens epithelial cells from patients with anterior polar cataracts.
Cell death of lens epithelial cells from anterior polar cataracts, nuclear cataracts, and non-cataractous clear lenses was measured by TUNEL assay and DNA fragmentation assay. The expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis.
Cell death was detected in specimen from patients with anterior polar cataracts by TUNEL assay. DNA fragmentation assay showed the characteristic laddering pattern from the genomic DNA from anterior polar cataracts. The expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and its protein was markedly decreased in lens epithelial cells from patients with anterior polar cataracts.
This study suggests that apoptotic cell death might occur in lens epithelial cells from anterior polar cataracts and decreased expression of Bcl-2 might play a role in the pathologic cellular mechanism of anterior polar cataracts.
鉴于越来越多的数据表明细胞凋亡与白内障形成有关，特别是报道在后囊膜混浊中检测到细胞凋亡，其病因据称与前极性白内障一样，是晶状体上皮细胞异常转分化为肌成纤维细胞，我们推测细胞凋亡也可能发生在前极性白内障中。在此，我们试图研究前极性白内障患者的晶状体上皮细胞中是否发生凋亡性细胞死亡。
通过TUNEL检测法和DNA片段化检测法测量前极性白内障、核性白内障和非白内障透明晶状体的晶状体上皮细胞的细胞死亡情况。使用逆转录-聚合酶链反应和蛋白质免疫印迹分析检测Bcl-2和Bax的表达。
通过TUNEL检测法在前极性白内障患者的标本中检测到细胞死亡。DNA片段化检测显示前极性白内障基因组DNA呈现特征性的梯状条带。前极性白内障患者的晶状体上皮细胞中Bcl-2 mRNA及其蛋白的表达明显降低。
本研究表明，前极性白内障患者的晶状体上皮细胞可能发生凋亡性细胞死亡，Bcl-2表达降低可能在前极性白内障的病理细胞机制中起作用。
