Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Number 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Int Ophthalmol. 2020 Jun;40(6):1411-1418. doi: 10.1007/s10792-020-01307-6. Epub 2020 Mar 6.
To study the structure of lens epithelial cells (LECs) in the anterior lens epithelium of presenile cataract and to further explore the possible reasons for presenile cataract development.
The anterior lens capsules (aLCs) of patients with presenile cataracts and patients with ordinary age-related cataracts were obtained from routine cataract surgery, and the 5-5.5 mm circles of the central aLC were cut in half and prepared for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
The most obvious structural changes in the LECs observed in both cataract groups by TEM were uneven thickness of the anterior lens epithelium, vacuolated cytoplasm and elongated nuclei. SEM showed abnormal structural changes in the LECs, with swollen cells and spheres on the anterior lens epithelium observed in both groups and holes formed by the LECs stretching observed only in the presenile cataract patients. The degeneration of the anterior lens epithelium and the structural changes in the LECs were observed more prominently in presenile cataract patients.
Abnormal and prominently affected structural features of LECs were observed in the presenile compared to age-related cataract patients by TEM and SEM. We suppose that ultrastructural pathological changes in the anterior lens epithelial cells are one of the important reasons for the development of presenile and age-related cataract.
研究早发性白内障前晶状体上皮细胞（LEC）的结构，进一步探讨早发性白内障发生的可能原因。
从常规白内障手术中获取早发性白内障患者和普通年龄相关性白内障患者的前晶状体囊（aLC），并将中央 aLC 的 5-5.5mm 圆切成两半，准备进行透射电镜（TEM）和扫描电镜（SEM）检查。
TEM 观察到两组白内障患者的 LEC 最明显的结构变化是前晶状体上皮不均匀增厚、空泡化细胞质和拉长的细胞核。SEM 显示 LEC 的异常结构变化，两组均在前晶状体上皮观察到肿胀的细胞和球体，仅在早发性白内障患者中观察到 LEC 拉伸形成的孔。早发性白内障患者的前晶状体上皮退化和 LEC 结构变化更为明显。
通过 TEM 和 SEM 观察，早发性白内障患者的 LEC 结构异常且明显受到影响。我们推测，前晶状体上皮细胞的超微结构病理变化是早发性和年龄相关性白内障发展的重要原因之一。
