The Influence of Capsule Composition on Lens Biology

描述(申请人提供)：晶状体囊膜是包围晶状体的一层增厚的基底膜，它为晶状体细胞提供必要的结构支撑，并调节晶状体和眼睛剩余部分之间的连接。晶状体囊膜成分也是晶状体细胞存活、增殖和分化的信号，尽管晶状体囊膜中发现的每种细胞外基质蛋白对晶状体细胞行为的相对贡献大多尚未确定。整合素是调节细胞与细胞外基质之间通讯的主要分子。在之前的资助周期中，我们发现各种整合素在晶状体发育以及后囊混浊(PCO)的发病机制中发挥着重要作用，PCO是手术摘除白内障的主要副作用。然而，整合素控制晶状体发育的机制和后囊混浊的发病机制尚不清楚。这项应用旨在研究整合素控制命运决定的分子机制，这些决定调控晶状体上皮细胞在发育过程中向纤维细胞的转变，以及在纤维性PCO发展过程中调节“珍珠型”PCO以及上皮细胞和肌成纤维细胞之间的转变。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The lens capsule is a thickened basement membrane surrounding the lens which provides essential structural support for lens cells and mediates connection between the lens and the remainder of the eye. Lens capsule components also serve as survival, proliferation and differentiation signals for the attached lens cells although te relative contribution of each extracellular matrix protein found in the lens capsule to lens cell behavior is mostly uncharacterized.. Integrins are major molecules mediating the communication between cells and their extracellular matrix. During the prior grant cycle we discovered that various integrins play essential roles in lens development as well as the pathogenesis of posterior capsular opacification (PCO), the major side effect of surgical cataract removal. However, the mechanisms by which integrins control lens development and the pathogenesis of PCO is not well understood. This application proposes to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which integrins control the fate decisions which regulate transitions from lens epithelial cells to fiber cells during development and "pearl type" PCO as well as transitions between epithelial cells and myofibroblasts during the process of fibrotic PCO development.