Acute glucose-derived osmotic stress in rabbit lenses

The morphological changes observed in rabbit lenses incubated without corpus vitreum in medium whose glucose concentration varied cyclically between normoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia were analyzed for the location of light scattering vacuoles. Minimal changes were seen in the epithelial cells, the external bow fibres and the lens nucleus, while maximal changes with vacuolization and damage were seen in the posterior part of the inner bow fibres. It was shown that the exchange of water takes place mainly across the posterior capsule. The susceptibility of this region in part may be due to the low aldose reductase activity in this region of the lens.