UV Effect on Human Anterior Lens Capsule Macro-Molecular Composition Studied by Synchrotron-Based FTIR Micro-Spectroscopy
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Updated: Nov 3, 2025

Characterizing Individual Protein Aggregates by Infrared Nanospectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy
Published on: September 12, 2019
Xhevat Lumi1, Tanja Dučić2, Martin Kreuzer2
1Eye Hospital, University Medical Centre, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Abstract:
Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is an important risk factor in cataractogenesis. Lens epithelial cells (LECs), which are a highly metabolically active part of the lens, play an important role in UV-induced cataractogenesis. The purpose of this study was to characterize cell compounds such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids in human UV C-irradiated anterior lens capsules (LCs) with LECs, as well as to compare them with the control, non-irradiated LCs of patients without cataract, by using synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) micro-spectroscopy. In order to understand the effect of the UV C on the LC bio-macromolecules in a context of cataractogenesis, we used the SR-FTIR micro-spectroscopy setup installed on the beamline MIRAS at the Spanish synchrotron light source ALBA, where measurements were set to achieve a single-cell resolution with high spectral stability and high photon flux. UV C irradiation of LCs resulted in a significant effect on protein conformation with protein formation of intramolecular parallel β-sheet structure, lower phosphate and carboxyl bands in fatty acids and amino acids, and oxidative stress markers with significant increase of lipid peroxidation and diminishment of the asymmetric CH3 band.
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