Azzam Naiel, Levanon Daniel, Dovrat Ahuva
B. Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 7 Efron St., P.O. Box 9649, Haifa 31096, Israel.
Exp Gerontol. 2004 Jan;39(1):139-46. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2003.09.020.
Epidemiological studies have indicated that ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of the main factors leading to senile cataract formation. We investigated morphological changes in the eye lens caused by UVR-A. Twenty three pairs of lenses obtained from 23 one-year-old calves were used for this study. For each pair, one lens was exposed to 44 J/m(2) UVR in the 365 nm wavelength region while the contralateral lens was not exposed and served as a control. The lenses were placed in specially designed organ culture containers for pre-incubation. Lenses were exposed to UVR after one day in culture. After irradiation, lens optical quality was monitored throughout additional 15 days of the culture period and lenses were taken for morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy. Damage to lens optical quality was evident as early as day 8 after the irradiation and increased with time in culture. We found irregularity of fiber morphology in lenses exposed to UV-A irradiation (but not in control lenses), similar to that reported previously for aged lenses. At the end of the culture period (day 16), lens fiber membranes also showed holes in fiber membranes. We conclude that UVR-A caused damage to cell membranes of the lens and alterations in lens optics, which may subsequently lead to senile cataract formation.
流行病学研究表明，紫外线辐射（UVR）是导致老年性白内障形成的主要因素之一。我们研究了UVR-A对眼晶状体的形态学变化。本研究使用了从23头一岁小牛获取的23对晶状体。对于每一对，一个晶状体暴露于波长为365nm的44J/m²UVR，而对侧晶状体不暴露作为对照。晶状体被放置在专门设计的器官培养容器中进行预培养。培养一天后对晶状体进行UVR照射。照射后，在培养的另外15天内监测晶状体的光学质量，并通过扫描电子显微镜对晶状体进行形态学分析。晶状体光学质量的损伤早在照射后第8天就很明显，并随着培养时间的增加而加重。我们发现暴露于UV-A照射的晶状体（对照晶状体未出现）中纤维形态不规则，这与先前报道的老化晶状体相似。在培养期结束时（第16天），晶状体纤维膜也出现了纤维膜孔。我们得出结论，UVR-A导致晶状体细胞膜损伤和晶状体光学改变，这可能随后导致老年性白内障形成。
