Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Prog Retin Eye Res. 2010 Mar;29(2):135-43. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2009.12.001. Epub 2009 Dec 17.
Over the last two decades much progress has been made in identifying and characterizing many of the molecules involved in understanding normal lens biology and its pathology. Much of this has been made possible through the establishment and use of the lens epithelial explant system. This simplistic tissue culture model, comprised of a sheet of lens epithelium on its native substratum, has been used effectively to study many cellular processes, including lens epithelial cell proliferation, fiber cell differentiation, cell apoptosis as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation of cells. In doing so, a number of key growth factors and cytokines, including members of the FGF, Wnt and TGFbeta family have been shown to play essential roles in many of these cellular events. This has led to further studies exploring the signaling pathways downstream of these molecules in the lens, paving the way for the development of a number of in situ models (primarily transgenic mouse lines) to further explore in more detail the nature of these molecular and cellular interactions. To reciprocate, the lens epithelial explant system is increasingly being used to further characterize the nature of many complex phenotypes and pathologies observed in these in situ models, allowing us to selectively isolate and examine the direct impact of an individual molecule on a specific cellular response in lens cells. There is no question that the lens epithelial explant system has served as a powerful tool to further our understanding of lens biology and pathology, and there is no doubt that it will continue to serve in such a capacity, as new developments are realized and putative treatments for aberrant lens cell behavior are to be trialed.
在过去的二十年中，人们在鉴定和描述参与理解正常晶状体生物学及其病理学的许多分子方面取得了很大进展。这在很大程度上要归功于晶状体上皮外植体系统的建立和使用。这个简单的组织培养模型由一层在其天然基质上的晶状体上皮组成，已经被有效地用于研究许多细胞过程，包括晶状体上皮细胞增殖、纤维细胞分化、细胞凋亡以及细胞上皮-间充质转化。在这样做的过程中，许多关键的生长因子和细胞因子，包括 FGF、Wnt 和 TGFbeta 家族的成员，已被证明在许多这些细胞事件中发挥着重要作用。这导致了进一步的研究，探索这些分子在晶状体中的下游信号通路，为开发许多原位模型（主要是转基因小鼠系）铺平了道路，以更详细地探索这些分子和细胞相互作用的性质。作为回报，晶状体上皮外植体系统越来越多地被用于进一步描述这些原位模型中观察到的许多复杂表型和病理学的性质，使我们能够选择性地分离和检查单个分子对晶状体细胞特定细胞反应的直接影响。毫无疑问，晶状体上皮外植体系统已成为我们进一步了解晶状体生物学和病理学的有力工具，而且毫无疑问，随着新的发展和潜在的异常晶状体细胞行为的治疗方法的试验，它将继续发挥这种作用。
