Remington Susann G, Meyer Rita A
Ophthalmology Research, HealthPartners Medical Group and Research Foundation, Regions Hospital, St. Paul, MN 55101, USA.
Theor Biol Med Model. 2007 Jun 8;4:22. doi: 10.1186/1742-4682-4-22.
In this paper, we consider the ocular lens in the context of contemporary developments in biological ideas. We attempt to reconcile lens biology with stem cell concepts and a dearth of lens tumors.Historically, the lens has been viewed as a closed system, in which cells at the periphery of the lens epithelium differentiate into fiber cells. Theoretical considerations led us to question whether the intracapsular lens is indeed self-contained. Since stem cells generate tumors and the lens does not naturally develop tumors, we reasoned that lens stem cells may not be present within the capsule. We hypothesize that lens stem cells reside outside the lens capsule, in the nearby ciliary body. Our ideas challenge the existing lens biology paradigm. We begin our discussion with lens background information, in order to describe our lens stem cell hypothesis in the context of published data. Then we present the ciliary body as a possible source for lens stem cells, and conclude by comparing the ocular lens with the corneal epithelium.
在本文中，我们从当代生物学思想发展的背景下审视晶状体。我们试图将晶状体生物学与干细胞概念以及晶状体肿瘤的稀缺性相协调。从历史上看，晶状体一直被视为一个封闭系统，其中晶状体上皮细胞周边的细胞分化为纤维细胞。理论思考使我们质疑囊内晶状体是否真的是自成一体的。由于干细胞会产生肿瘤而晶状体不会自然发生肿瘤，我们推断晶状体干细胞可能不存在于囊内。我们假设晶状体干细胞存在于晶状体囊外，在附近的睫状体中。我们的观点挑战了现有的晶状体生物学范式。我们首先介绍晶状体的背景信息，以便在已发表数据的背景下描述我们的晶状体干细胞假说。然后我们提出睫状体作为晶状体干细胞的一个可能来源，并通过将眼晶状体与角膜上皮进行比较来得出结论。
