[The role of myeloperoxidase, a product of the polymorphonuclear leukocytes, in the pathogenesis of cataract].

The capacity of myeloperoxidase which is the product of polymorphonuclear leucocytes to induce the lens opacity was studied in young and old rabbits. It was found that the injection of myeloperoxidase solution into anterior chamber of the eye causes the irreversible lens opacification in old rabbits, not in young ones. Light microscopy of the lens section has shown the following alterations: the local thickening of the anterior capsule, disorderly accumulation of epithelial cells, formation of so-called "bladder cells" under the lens epithelium. Changes in experimental eyes are typical for cataract.