[Immunohistochemical studies on factors involved in after cataract]

In this study, lenses of autopsy eyeballs, anterior capsules including lens epithelium taken during operation for cortical cataract, after cataract tissue obtained at the time of operation, and Elschnig's pearles and Soemmerring's ring from autopsy eye-balls were examined for a variety of factors, such as growth factors, cytokines, bioactive substance factors, cytoskeleton proteins and extracellular matrices by immunocytohistochemistry. Preoperative lens epithelium expressed epidermal growth factor (EGF), EGF-receptor (R), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), FGF-R, interleukin (IL)-1-RII, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), keratin and laminine. In addition to the above factors, opacified fibrous capsule in after cataract expressed transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II), platelet derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), IL-6, prostaglandin-E2 (PG-E2), alpha smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and I and III to VI type collagen. Elschnig's pearls expressed FGF-R, TNF-alpha, and laminin. Soemmerring's ring expressed EGF, FGF, FGF-R, IL-1-RII, keratin, tissue-PA, and PAI-1.