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Wang K, Pu Y, Chen L, Hoshino M, Uesugi K, Yagi N, Chen X, Usui Y, Hanashima A, Hashimoto K, Mohri S, Pierscionek BK. Optical development in the murine eye lens of accelerated senescence-prone SAMP8 and senescence-resistant SAMR1 strains. Exp Eye Res 2024; 241:109858. [PMID: 38467176 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2024.109858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
The eye lens is responsible for focusing objects at various distances onto the retina and its refractive power is determined by its surface curvature as well as its internal gradient refractive index (GRIN). The lens continues to grow with age resulting in changes to the shape and to the GRIN profile. The present study aims to investigate how the ageing process may influence lens optical development. Murine lenses of accelerated senescence-prone strain (SAMP8) aged from 4 to 50 weeks; senescence-resistant strain (SAMR1) aged from 5 to 52 weeks as well as AKR strain (served as control) aged from 6 to 70 weeks were measured using the X-ray interferometer at the SPring-8 synchrotron Japan within three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. Three dimensional distributions of the lens GRIN were reconstructed using the measured data and the lens shapes were determined using image segmentation in MatLab. Variations in the parameters describing the lens shape and the GRIN profile with age were compared amongst three mouse strains. With advancing age, both the lens anterior and posterior surface flattens and the lens sagittal thickness increase in all three mouse strains (Anterior radius of curvature increase at 0.008 mm/week, 0.007 mm/week and 0.002 mm/week while posterior radius of curvature increase at 0.002 mm/week, 0.007 mm/week and 0.003 mm/week respectively in AKR, SAMP8 and SAMR1 lenses). Compared with the AKR strain, the SAMP8 samples demonstrate a higher rate of increase in the posterior curvature radius (0.007 mm/week) and the thickness (0.015 mm/week), whilst the SAMR1 samples show slower increases in the anterior curvature radius (0.002 mm/week) and its thickness (0.013 mm/week). There are similar age-related trends in GRIN shape in the radial direction (in all three types of murine lenses nr2 and nr6 increase with age while nr4 decrease with age consistently) but not in the axial direction amongst three mouse strains (nz1 of AKR lens decrease while of SAMP8 and SAMR1 increase with age; nz2 of all three models increase with age; nz3 of AKR lens increase while of SAMP8 and SAMR1 decrease with age). The ageing process can influence the speed of lens shape change and affect the GRIN profile mainly in the axial direction, contributing to an accelerated decline rate of the optical power in the senescence-prone strain (3.5 D/week compared to 2.3 D/week in the AKR control model) but a retardatory decrease in the senescence-resistant strain (2.1 D/week compared to the 2.3D/week in the AKR control model).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kehao Wang
- School of Engineering Medicine and School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
| | - Yutian Pu
- School of Engineering Medicine and School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
| | - Leran Chen
- Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
| | - Masato Hoshino
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo, 679-5198, Japan.
| | - Kentaro Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo, 679-5198, Japan.
| | - Naoto Yagi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo, 679-5198, Japan.
| | - Xiaoyong Chen
- Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing Key Laboratory of Restoration of Damaged Ocular Nerve, Peking University Third Hospital, China.
| | - Yuu Usui
- First Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.
| | - Akira Hanashima
- First Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.
| | - Ken Hashimoto
- First Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.
| | - Satoshi Mohri
- First Department of Physiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan.
| | - Barbara K Pierscionek
- Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Medical Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, Bishops Hall Lane, Chelmsford, United Kingdom.
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Gupta A, Ruminski D, Villar AJ, Toledo RD, Gondek G, Pierscionek B, Artal P, Grulkowski I. Age-related changes in geometry and transparency of human crystalline lens revealed by optical signal discontinuity zones in swept-source OCT images. EYE AND VISION (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2023; 10:46. [PMID: 38037146 PMCID: PMC10691129 DOI: 10.1186/s40662-023-00365-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The shape and microstructure of the human crystalline lens alter with ageing, and this has an effect on the optical properties of the eye. The aim of this study was to characterise the age-related differences in the morphology and transparency of the eye lenses of healthy subjects through the optical signal discontinuity (OSD) zones in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. We also investigated the association of those changes with the optical quality of the eye and visual function. METHODS OCT images of the anterior segment of 49 eyes of subjects (9-78 years) were acquired, and the OSD zones (nucleus, C1-C4 cortical zones) were identified. Central thickness, curvature and optical density were measured. The eye's optical quality was evaluated by the objective scatter index (OSI). Contrast sensitivity and visual acuity tests were performed. The correlation between extracted parameters and age was assessed. RESULTS The increase in lens thickness with age was dominated by the thickening of the cortical zone C3 (0.0146 mm/year). The curvature radii of the anterior lens surface and both anterior and posterior nucleo-cortical interfaces decreased with age (- 0.053 mm/year, - 0.013 mm/year and - 0.006 mm/year, respectively), and no change was observed for the posterior lens radius. OCT-based densitometry revealed significant correlations with age for all zones except for C1β, and the highest increase in density was in the C2-C4 zones (R = 0.45, 0.74, 0.56, respectively, P < 0.001). Increase in OSI was associated with the degradation of visual function. CONCLUSIONS OCT enables the identification of OSD zones of the crystalline lens. The most significant age-related changes occur in the C3 zone as it thickens with age at a faster rate and becomes more opaque than other OSD zones. The changes are associated with optical quality deterioration and reduction of visual performance. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the structure-function relationship of the ageing lens and offer insights into both pathological and aging alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish Gupta
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Daniel Ruminski
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Alfonso Jimenez Villar
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Raúl Duarte Toledo
- Laboratorio de Óptica, Centro de Investigación en Óptica y Nanofísica, Universidad de Murcia, Edif. CIOyN, N º34, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Grzegorz Gondek
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100, Toruń, Poland
| | - Barbara Pierscionek
- Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine, and Social Care, Medical Technology Research Center, Chelmsford Campus, Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Ln, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ, UK
| | - Pablo Artal
- Laboratorio de Óptica, Centro de Investigación en Óptica y Nanofísica, Universidad de Murcia, Edif. CIOyN, N º34, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain
| | - Ireneusz Grulkowski
- Institute of Physics, Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100, Toruń, Poland.
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Rodriguez J, Tan Q, Šikić H, Taber LA, Bassnett S. The effect of fibre cell remodelling on the power and optical quality of the lens. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20230316. [PMID: 37727073 PMCID: PMC10509584 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate eye lenses are uniquely adapted to form a refractive index gradient (GRIN) for improved acuity, and to grow slowly in size despite constant cell proliferation. The mechanisms behind these adaptations remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that cell compaction contributes to both. To test this notion, we examined the relationship between lens size and shape, refractive characteristics and the cross-sectional areas of constituent fibre cells in mice of different ages. We developed a block-face imaging method to visualize cellular cross sections and found that the cross-sectional areas of fibre cells rose and then decreased over time, with the most significant reduction occurring in denucleating cells in the adult lens cortex, followed by cells in the embryonic nucleus. These findings help reconcile differences between the predictions of lens growth models and empirical data. Biomechanical simulations suggested that compressive forces generated from continuous deposition of fibre cells could contribute to cellular compaction. However, optical measurements revealed that the GRIN did not mirror the pattern of cellular compaction, implying that compaction alone cannot account for GRIN formation and that additional mechanisms are likely to be involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Rodriguez
- Department of Basic Sciences, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, 1 Pharmacy Place, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Q. Tan
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8096, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - H. Šikić
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - L. A. Taber
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - S. Bassnett
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Ave, Campus Box 8096, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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Wang K, Hoshino M, Uesugi K, Yagi N, Pierscionek BK, Andley UP. Oxysterol Compounds in Mouse Mutant αA- and αB-Crystallin Lenses Can Improve the Optical Properties of the Lens. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2022; 63:15. [PMID: 35575904 PMCID: PMC9123516 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.5.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To investigate how cataract-linked mutations affect the gradient refractive index (GRIN) and lens opacification in mouse lenses and whether there is any effect on the optics of the lens from treatment with an oxysterol compound. Methods A total of 35 mice including wild-type and knock-in mutants (Cryaa-R49C and Cryab-R120G) were used in these experiments: 26 mice were treated with topical VP1-001, an oxysterol, in one eye and vehicle in the other, and nine mice were untreated controls. Slit lamp biomicroscopy was used to analyze the lens in live animals and to provide apparent cataract grades. Refractive index in the lenses of 64 unfixed whole mouse eyes was calculated from measurements with X-ray phase tomography based on X-ray Talbot interferometry with a synchrotron radiation source. Results Heterozygous Cryaa-R49C lenses had slightly irregularly shaped contours in the center of the GRIN and distinct disturbances of the gradient index at the anterior and posterior poles. Contours near the lens surface were denser in homozygous Cryab-R120G lenses. Treatment with topical VP1-001, an oxysterol, showed an improvement in refractive index profiles in 61% of lenses and this was supported by a reduction in apparent lens opacity grade by 1.0 in 46% of live mice. Conclusions These results indicate that α-crystallin mutations alter the refractive index gradient of mouse lenses in distinct ways and suggest that topical treatment with VP1-001 may improve lens transparency and refractive index contours in some lenses with mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kehao Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Masato Hoshino
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (SPring8), Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Kentaro Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (SPring8), Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Naoto Yagi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (SPring8), Sayo, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Barbara K. Pierscionek
- Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Medical Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, Bishops Hall Lane, Chelmsford, United Kingdom
| | - Usha P. Andley
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
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Cheng C, Wang K, Hoshino M, Uesugi K, Yagi N, Pierscionek B. EphA2 Affects Development of the Eye Lens Nucleus and the Gradient of Refractive Index. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2022; 63:2. [PMID: 34978559 PMCID: PMC8742528 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.1.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Our studies in mouse eye lenses demonstrate that ephrin-A5 and EphA2 are needed for normal epithelial cells and lens transparency. We sought to determine whether EphA2 and ephrin-A5 are important for lens morphometrics, nucleus formation, and refractive index. Methods We performed tissue morphometric measurements, electron microscopy, Western blots, and interferometric measurements using an X-ray synchrotron beam source to measure the gradient of refractive index (GRIN) to compare mouse lenses with genetic disruption of EphA2 or ephrin-A5. Results Morphometric analysis revealed that although there is no change in the overall lens volume, there is a change in lens shape in both EphA2-/- lenses and ephrin-A5-/- lenses. Surprisingly, EphA2-/- lenses had small and soft lens nuclei different from hard lens nuclei of control lenses. SEM images revealed changes in cell morphology of EphA2-/- fiber cells close to the center of the lens. Inner EphA2-/- lens fibers had more pronounced tongue-and-groove interdigitations and formed globular membrane morphology only in the deepest layers of the lens nucleus. We did not observe nuclear defects in ephrin-A5-/- lenses. There was an overall decrease in magnitude of refractive index across EphA2-/- lenses, which is most pronounced in the nucleus. Conclusions This work reveals that Eph-ephrin signaling plays a role in fiber cell maturation, nuclear compaction, and lens shape. Loss of EphA2 disrupts the nuclear compaction resulting in a small lens nucleus. Our data suggest that Eph-ephrin signaling may be required for fiber cell membrane reorganization and compaction and for establishing a normal GRIN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Cheng
- School of Optometry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
| | - Kehao Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Masato Hoshino
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
| | - Kentaro Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
| | - Naoto Yagi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (Spring-8), 1-1-1, Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198 Japan
| | - Barbara Pierscionek
- Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Medical Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford Campus, United Kingdom
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Marzec E, Olszewski J. Dielectric response to thermal denaturation of lenses in healthy and diabetic rabbits. Bioelectrochemistry 2021; 142:107923. [PMID: 34385118 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioelechem.2021.107923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The relative permittivity and conductivity of healthy and alloxane-induced diabetic rabbits lenses were measured over a frequency range of 500 Hz to 100 kHz in an electric field and at temperatures from 25 to 150 °C. The dielectric spectra for both tissues showed two separate relaxations with a characteristic frequency of around 4 and 25 kHz assigned to the cortical and nuclear zones, respectively. These two dispersions are due to the interfacial polarization at the surface of the α-crystallin molecules. The denaturation temperature for the non-diabetic lens and the diabetic lens is approximately 70 and 80 °C, respectively. Moreover, the relative permittivity and conductivity values are higher in the diabetic lens than in the non-diabetic tissue at the same temperature and frequency. Our dielectric studies provide a better understanding of the thermal stability of crystallin-water complexes in normal and diseased human lenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Marzec
- Department of Bionics and Bioimpedance, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Parkowa 2, 60-775 Poznań, Poland.
| | - J Olszewski
- Department of Bionics and Bioimpedance, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Parkowa 2, 60-775 Poznań, Poland
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Wang K, Vorontsova I, Hoshino M, Uesugi K, Yagi N, Hall JE, Schilling TF, Pierscionek BK. Aquaporins Have Regional Functions in Development of Refractive Index in the Zebrafish Eye Lens. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021; 62:23. [PMID: 33724295 PMCID: PMC7980049 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.62.3.23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose In the eye lens, cytosolic protein concentrations increase progressively from the periphery to the center, contributing to the gradient of refractive index (GRIN). Aquaporins are membrane proteins of lens fiber cells that regulate water transport and adhesion and interact with cytoskeletal proteins. This study investigates how these membrane proteins contribute to proper development of the lens GRIN. Methods Loss-of-function deletions of aqp0a and/or aqp0b in zebrafish were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Lenses of single aqp0a−/− mutants, single aqp0b−/− mutants, and double aqp0a−/−/aqp0b−/− mutants from larval to elderly adult stages were measured using x-ray Talbot interferometry at SPring8 in Japan. The three-dimensional GRIN profiles in two orthogonal cross-sectional planes of each lens were analyzed and compared with in vivo images and previous results obtained from wild-type lenses. Results Single aqp0a−/− mutants tended to show asymmetric GRIN profiles, with the central plateau regions shifted anteriorly. Single aqp0b−/− mutants had smooth, symmetric GRIN profiles throughout development until spoke opacities appeared in several extremely old samples. Double aqp0a−/−/aqp0b−/− mutants showed lower magnitude GRIN profiles, as well as dips in the central plateau region. Conclusions These findings suggest that Aqp0a and Aqp0b have region-specific functions in the lens: Aqp0a is active peripherally, regulating centralization of the plateau region, and this function cannot be compensated for by Aqp0b. In the lens center, either Aqp0a or Aqp0b is required for formation of the plateau region, as well as for the GRIN to reach its maximum magnitude in mature lenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kehao Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Irene Vorontsova
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States.,Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States
| | - Masato Hoshino
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Kentaro Uesugi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Naoto Yagi
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, Hyogo, Japan
| | - James Ewbank Hall
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States
| | - Thomas Friedrich Schilling
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, United States
| | - Barbara Krystyna Pierscionek
- School of Life Sciences and Education, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom.,Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Chelmsford Campus, Anglia Ruskin University, United Kingdom
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