Yan Qin, Liu Jin-Ping, Li David Wan-Cheng
College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China.
Differentiation. 2006 Jun;74(5):195-211. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-0436.2006.00068.x.
The ocular lens is a distinct system to study cell death for the following reasons. First, during animal development, the ocular lens is crafted into its unique shape. The crafting processes include cell proliferation, cell migration, and apoptosis. Moreover, the lens epithelial cells differentiate into lens fiber cells through a process, which utilizes the same regulators as those in apoptosis at multiple signaling steps. In addition, introduction of exogenous wild-type or mutant genes or knock-out of the endogenous genes leads to apoptosis of the lens epithelial cells followed by absence of the ocular lens or formation of abnormal lens. Finally, both in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that treatment of adult lens with stress factors induces apoptosis of lens epithelial cells, which is followed by cataractogenesis. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on apoptosis in the ocular lens with emphasis on its role in lens development and pathology.
由于以下原因，眼球晶状体是研究细胞死亡的一个独特系统。首先，在动物发育过程中，眼球晶状体被塑造为其独特的形状。塑造过程包括细胞增殖、细胞迁移和细胞凋亡。此外，晶状体上皮细胞通过一个过程分化为晶状体纤维细胞，该过程在多个信号步骤中利用与细胞凋亡相同的调节因子。此外，引入外源性野生型或突变基因或敲除内源性基因会导致晶状体上皮细胞凋亡，随后出现无晶状体或异常晶状体形成。最后，体外和体内研究均表明，用应激因素处理成年晶状体可诱导晶状体上皮细胞凋亡，继而引发白内障形成。本综述总结了目前关于眼球晶状体细胞凋亡的知识，重点阐述了其在晶状体发育和病理过程中的作用。
