[Phospholipids in lenses of the cac mouse]

Changes of the phospholipid content of lenses were studied in the cac mouse, with inherited cataracts, during the course of development of cataracts. In the cac mice the total phospholipid content decreased with age and was lower than in the control (cac/ddY) mice at 35 days of age. The total cholesterol content increased with age in both mice, but it was lower in the cac mice than in the controls at 35 days of age. The cholesterol/phospholipid ratio was smaller in the cac mice than in the controls at 14 days of age, while the ratio became greater in the cac mice than in the controls at 21 days of age or more. Phospholipids were mainly composed of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine (PS) and sphingomyelin (Sph), with a trace of phosphatidylinositol. With age, the PS content increased gradually in the controls while it decreased in the cac mice and the Sph content was unchanged in the controls while it increased in the cac mice. These results suggest some metabolic alterations of phospholipids, especially of PS and Sph in the lenses of the cac mouse with aging.