The Influence of Capsule Composition on Lens Biology

描述（由申请人提供）：晶状体囊是围绕晶状体的增厚基底膜，为晶状体细胞提供必要的结构支撑，并介导晶状体与眼睛其余部分之间的连接。尽管在晶状体囊中发现的每一种细胞外基质蛋白对晶状体细胞行为的相对贡献大多是未知的，但晶状体囊成分也作为附着的晶状体细胞的生存、增殖和分化信号。整合素是介导细胞与细胞外基质之间通讯的主要分子。在先前的资助周期中，我们发现各种整合素在晶状体发育和后囊膜混浊（PCO）的发病机制中起重要作用，后囊膜混浊是白内障手术摘除的主要副作用。然而，整合素控制晶状体发育的机制和PCO的发病机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨整合素在晶状体上皮细胞发育过程中调控晶状体上皮细胞向纤维细胞转变和“珍珠型”PCO以及纤维化PCO发育过程中上皮细胞向肌成纤维细胞转变的分子机制。

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.