ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

OF LENS
DR. SUKHMAN KAUR
1ST.YR. PG STUDENT,
OPHTHALMOLOGY DEPTT
SGRDIMSR
SRI AMRITSAR
HUMAN EYE ANATOMY
 INTRODUCTION

• LENS IS A HIGHLY ORGANIZED SYSTEM OF SPECIALIZED CELLS

• IT CONSTITUTES AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE OPTICAL SYSTEM
OF THE EYE=
• 1) IT ALLOWS THE PASSAGE OF INCIDENT LIGHT TO THE RETINA AS IT IS
TRANSPARENT
• 2) IT ENABLES THE EYE TO FOCUS THE IMAGES OF THE OBJECTS ON THE
RETINA LYING AT DISTANCES FROM NEAR TO INFINITY(ACCOMODATION)
• 3) IT HELPS IN REFRACTION OF LIGHT & CONSTITUTES ABOUT ONE-THIRD
TO TOTAL DIOPTERIC POWER OF EYE
THE HUMAN LENS
 CONTINUED

• THE LENS AT BIRTH IS PERFECTLY TRANSPARENT, WITH GROWTH OF THE

LENS THERE IS AN INCREASING YELLOWING OF ITS NUCLEUS PROBABLY DUE
TO THE EFFECT OF ABSORBED U.V. (MAINLY 315-400 NM) OF SUNLIGHT,WHICH
LEADS TO THE PRODUCTION OF VISIBLE AND FLUORESCENT PIGMENTS
• IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THESE PIGMENTS MAY SERVE TO SCREEN THE
RETINA FROM THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF SHORT-WAVE 'BLUE LIGHT'
RADIATION.
• THE LENS IS UNIQUE AMONG ORGANS IN THAT IT CONTAINS CELLS SOLELY
OF A SINGLE TYPE ,IN VARIOUS STAGES OF DIFFERENTIATION & RETAINS
WITHIN IT ALL THE CELLS FORMED DURING LIFETIME
 CONTINUED

• AS CELLS BECOME OLDER & MORE EMBEDDED THEY UNDERGO

SEVERAL CHANGES, LOSING ORGANELLES & BECOMING
PROGRESSIVELY MORE INERT METABOLICALLY
• AS NO CELLS ARE SHED, THE LENS DEMONSTRATES CELLS AT
VARYING STAGES OF SENESCENCE
• THE LENS HAS ALL THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF A BICONVEX
LENS, ITS CIRCUMFERENCE IS KNOWN AS THE EQUATOR
• LENS GROWS IN SIZE CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT LIFE & IN THIS
RESPECT IT IS UNIQUE AMONG THE ORGANS OF THE BODY
PARTS OF HUMAN CRYSTALLINE
LENS
 IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE
LENS
• 1)RADIUS OF ANTERIOR SURFACE= 10MM(8-14MM)

• 2)RADIUS OF POSTERIOR SURFACE= 6MM(4.5-7.5MM)

• 3)ANTERIOR POLE= 3MM FROM THE BACK OF THE CORNEA

• 4)EQUATORIAL DIAMETER=
6.5MM AT BIRTH
10MM IN ADULTS
 CONTINUED
• 5)AXIAL WIDTH=
AT BIRTH- 3.5-4MM
IN ADULTS- 4.75-5MM

• 6)REFRACTIVE INDEX OF LENS=

AS A WHOLE- 1.39
NUCLEUS- 1.42
CORTEX- 1.38

• 7)REFRACTIVE POWER=
16-17 D
 CONTINUED
• 8)WEIGHT OF LENS=
AT BIRTH- 65MG
AT 10 YRS AGE- 135MG
OLD AGE- 258MG

• 9)ACCOMODATIVE POWER=
AT BIRTH- 14-16D
AT 25 YRS- 7-8D
AT 50 YRS- 1-2D
 CONTINUED

• 10)COLOUR OF LENS=
INFANTS- TRANSPARENT
YOUNG ADULTS- COLOURLESS
AFTER ABOUT 30 YRS OF AGE- YELLOWISH TINGE
OLD AGE- AMBER COLOUR
 COMPOSITION OF LENS

• THE LENS IS COMPOSED OF 64% WATER, 35% PROTEIN & 1% LIPID,

CARBOHYDRATE & TRACE ELEMENTS.
• THE PROTEIN CONCENTRATION IN THE LENS IS HIGHEST AMONGST
BODY TISSUES.
• THE MAIN TYPES OF PROTEIN ARE -
1)ALPHA CRYSTALLINS(31%),
2)BETA CRYSTALLINS(55%)
3)GAMMA CRYSTALLINS(2%)
4)INSOLUBLE ALBUMINOIDS(12%)
5)MUCOPROTEINS (0.8%)
6)NUCLEOPROTEINS(0.07%)

• THESE CRYSTALLINS FORM 90% OF MASS OF THE LENS FIBRES.

 STRUCTURE OF LENS

• LENS IS DEVELOPED FROM AN INVAGINATION OF SURFACE

ECTODERM OF THE FETUS, SO WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY THE SURFACE
OF THE EPITHELIUM COMES TO LIE IN THE CENTRE OF THE LENS, THE
PERIPHERAL CELLS CORRESPONDING TO THE BASAL CELLS OF THE
EPIDERMIS
• LENS HAS THREE MAIN PARTS=
• 1)LENS CAPSULE
• 2)LENS EPITHELIUM
• 3)LENS FIBRES
 THE LENS CAPSULE

• IT IS A THIN, TRANSPARENT, HYALINE COLLAGENOUS MEMBRANE

WHICH SURROUNDS THE LENS COMPLETELY
• IT IS SECRETED BY THE BASAL CELLS OF ANTERIOR LENS EPITHELIUM
ANTERIORLY & BY THE BASAL AREA OF ELONGATING LENS FIBRES
POSTERIORLY.
• THE CAPSULE IS THE BASEMENT MEMBRANE OF THE LENS EPITHELIUM
& IT IS THE THICKEST BASEMENT MEMBRANE IN THE BODY.
• IT IS AN INVERTED BASEMENT MEMBRANE FACING INSIDE OF CLOSED
CAVITY.
PARTS OF THE LENS
 CONTINUED

• BASEMENT MEMBRANE ORIGINS OF THE CAPSULE ARE DISPLAYED BY A POSITIVE

PAS REAGENT WHICH STAINS THE GLYCOPROTEIN MATRIX.

• IT IS MUCH THICKER IN FRONT THAN BEHIND AND ANTERIOR & POSTERIOR

PORTIONS ARE THICKER TOWARDS THE PERIPHERY I.E THE EQUATOR & IT IS
THINNEST AT THE POSTERIOR POLE.

• THE CAPSULE IS RICH IN TYPE IV COLLAGEN & ALSO CONTAINS TYPE I & III
COLLAGENS & OTHER EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX COMPONENTS WHICH INCLUDE
LAMININ, FIBRONECTIN, HEPARAN SULPHATE PROTEOGLYCAN & ENTACTIN.
 CONTINUED
• LENS CAPSULE IS FREELY PERMEABLE TO WATER, IONS & OTHER
SMALL MOLECULES & OFFERS A BARRIER TO PROTEIN MOLECULES
THE SIZE OF ALBUMIN(70KDA) & HEMOGLOBIN(66.7KDA).

• CAPSULE THICKNESS INCREASES ANTERIORLY WITH AGE.

• BUT THERE IS LITTLE CHANGE AT THE POSTERIOR POLE.

• REFLECTING THAT EPITHELIUM WHICH IS THE SECRETORY

SOURCE OF BASEMENT MEMBRANE IS INVOLVED IN THE
REMODELLING OF THE CAPSULE.
 CONTINUED

• ON MICROSCOPY THE CAPSULE APPEARS AS A HOMOGENOUS,

TRANSPARENT STRUCTURE SHOWING A LAMELLAR APPEARANCE WITH
FIBRES ARRANGED PARALLEL TO ITS SURFACE.

• THERE ARE UPTO 40 LAMELLAE, EACH OF WHICH IS ABOUT 40NM THICK

• THE LAMELLAR STRUCTURE BECOMES MODIFIED WITH AGE SINCE IT

DISAPPEARS FROM THE POSTERIOR POLE DURING THE 1ST DECADE &
FROM THE ANTERIOR ASPECT 4-5 DECADES LATER.
 THE LENS EPITHELIUM

• THE EPITHELIUM CONSISTS OF A SINGLE SHEET OF CUBOIDAL

CELLS SPREAD OVER THE FRONT OF LENS, DEEP TO THE
CAPSULE & EXTENDING OUTWARDS TO THE EQUATOR.

• ITS CELLS ARE CUBOIDAL IN SAGITTAL SECTION BUT

POLYGONAL IN SURFACE VIEW, THERE ARE ABOUT 5,00,000
CELLS IN THE MATURE LENS WITH A CENTRAL DENSITY OF
ABOUT 5009/MM2 IN MEN & 5781/MM2 IN WOMEN.

• LENS EPITHELIUM SECRETES THE LENS CAPSULE & REGULATES

THE TRANSPORT OF METABOLITES, NUTRIENTS &
ELECTROLYTES TO THE LENS FIBRES
 CONTINUED

• THERE IS NO CORRESPONDING POSTERIOR EPITHELIUM & ALMOST ALL

METABOLIC, SYNTHETIC & TRANSPORT PROCESS OF LENS OCCUR HERE.

• CELLS OF THE LENS EPITHELIUM ARE OF TWO TYPES=

THOSE IN THE CENTRAL ZONE THAT ARE NOT ACTIVELY DIVIDING & CELLS IN
THE PRE-EQUATORIAL GERMINATIVE ZONE THAT GIVE RISE TO THE LENS FIBRES.

• THESE CELLS ARE INTERCONNECTED BY GAP JUNCTIONS & DESMOSOMES & NOT
BY TIGHT JUNCTIONS OR ZONA OCCLUDENS, UNLIKE TYPICAL EPITHELIAL
CELLS.
 CONTINUED

• THE LENS EPITHELIUM IS DIVIDED INTO THREE ZONES=

1)CENTRAL ZONE-
IT REPRESENTS A STABLE POPULATION OF CELLS WHOSE NUMBERS LIKE THOSE
OF CORNEAL ENDOTHELIUM ARE REDUCED WITH AGE.

THEY ARE POLYGONAL IN FLAT SECTION & PRESENT A SMOOTH APICAL SURFACE
TO THE MOST SUPERFICIAL LENS FIBRES WHICH THEY ADJOIN.

THE CENTRAL CELLS DO NOT NORMALLY MITOSE, BUT THEY CAN DO SO IN

RESPONSE TO DAMAGE
 CONTINUED
• 2)INTERMEDIATE ZONE-
IT IS PERIPHERAL TO THE CENTRAL ZONE & ITS CELLS ARE
SMALLER, MORE CYLINDRICAL & WITH A CENTRAL NUCLEUS.

MITOSES ARE OCCASIONALY SEEN IN THIS ZONE.

3)GERMINATIVE ZONE-
IT IS THE MOST PERIPHERAL ONE & IS LOCATED JUST PRE-
EQUATORIALLY, IT IS THE MAJOR SITE OF CELL DIVISION.

FROM THIS REGION NEW CELLS MIGRATE POSTERIORLY TO

BECOME LENS FIBRES.
 THE LENS FIBRES
• THEY FORM THE MAIN BULK OF THE LENS & ARE LONG, THIN,
TRANSPARENT CELLS FIRMLY PACKED WITH DIAMETER OF 4-7
MICRON & LENGTH UPTO 12MM.

• THE LENS FIBRES ARE PRODUCED BY MITOSIS OF EPITHELIAL CELLS

IN PRE-EQUATORIAL ZONE, WHICH ELONGATE & UNDERGO
PYKNOCYTOSIS & EVENTUAL LOSS OF CELL ORGANELLES AND
NUCLEUS, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE TRANSPARENCY
OF THE LENS

• AS THE FIBRES ELONGATE & NEW ONES FORM, THE OLDER ONES ARE
PUSHED TOWARDS THE DEPTH OF THE LENS SO THAT YOUNGER LENS
FIBRES ARE THE MOST SUPERFICIALLY LOCATED, IN CONTRAST THE
MOST SUPERFICIAL PART OF THE LENS CAPSULE IS THE OLDEST.
FORMATION OF THE LENS FIBRE
 CONTINUED

• THE DEPOSITION OF SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS OF LENS FIBRES IS

ASSOCIATED WITH THE FORMATION OF THE NUCLEAR BOW.

• IN NUCLEAR BOW THE NOW-FLATTENED NUCLEI OF SUCCESSIVE

GENERATIONS OF LENS FIBRES FORM AN ARCH FORWARDS WHEN
TRACED INTO THE DEEPER PORTIONS OF THE LENS.

• THIS FORMS AN S- OR C-SHAPED CURVE IN MERIDIONAL SECTION.

ARRANGEMENT OF LENS FIBRES
 CONTINUED
• THE DEEPER, OLDER LENS FIBRES, ABOUT 150 MICRON INTO THE CORTEX, LOSE
THEIR NUCLEI AND THIS REPRESENTS THE TERMINATION OF THE NUCLEAR BOW.

• AT THE EQUATOR, THE NUCLEATED ZONE IN THE ADULT LENS AVERAGES 300-500
MICRON THICK .

• THE TIPS OF THE FIBRES MEET THOSE OF OTHER FIBRES TO FORM SUTURES, THE
SUTURE ARRANGEMENTS OF THE LENS BECOME INCREASINGLY COMPLEX WITH
THE GROWTH OF THE LENS

• IN THE FETAL NUCLEUS THERE IS AN ANTERIOR ERECT Y AND A POSTERIOR

INVERTED Y SUTURE.
 CONTINUED

• WITH FURTHER GROWTH, THERE IS ADDITIONAL SYMMETRICAL

BRANCHING OF THE SUTURE ULTIMATELY TO FORM THE 9-POINT STAR OF
THE MATURE CORTEX.

• THE SUTURE SYSTEM MAY BE ENVISAGED AS A MEANS OF

ACCOMMODATING THE GROWTH AND PACKING OF THE LENS FIBRES WHILE
RETAINING THE CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION OF THE LENS

• IN ADULTS, CONTINOUSLY FORMING FIBRES ARE ARRANGED COMPACTLY AS

NUCLEUS & CORTEX.
 NUCLEUS

• IT IS THE CENTRAL PART OF THE LENS CONTAINING THE OLDEST FIBRES.

• PARTS OF NUCLEUS=
1)EMBRYONIC NUCLEUS(1-3 MONTHS OF GESTATION)

2)FETAL NUCLEUS(3 MONTHS-BIRTH)

3)INFANTILE NUCLEUS(BIRTH- PUBERTY)

4)ADULT NUCLEUS
THE LENS NUCLEUS
 CORTEX

• IT IS THE PERIPHERAL PART

• IT HAS THE YOUNGEST FIBRES

• HISTOLOGICALLY SECTION THROUGH THE EQUATOR

SHOWS THE HEXAGONAL STRUCTURE OF LENS FIBRES &
BOUND TOGETHER BY GROUND SUBSTANCE
 CILIARY ZONULES

• THE CILIARY ZONULES( ZONULES OF ZINN OR SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS)

CONSIST OF A SERIES OF STIFF, NON-ELASTIC FIBRES WHICH RUN FROM
CILIARY BODY & FUSE INTO THE OUTER LAYER OF THE LENS CAPSULE
AROUND THE EQUATORIAL ZONE.

• THE ZONULES ARE PRIMARILY MADE UP OF FIBRILLIN, A CONNECTIVE TISSUE

PROTEIN.

• EACH ZONULAR FIBRE HAS A DIAMETER OF ABOUT 0.35-1 MICRONS & IS

COMPOSED OF MICROFIBRILS, GLYCOPROTEINS & MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES.
CILIARY MUSCLE & ZONULES
 CONTINUED

• THEY HOLD THE LENS IN POSITION & ENABLE THE CILIARY MUSCLES TO
ACT ON IT.

• GROSSLY THE CILIARY ZONULES FORM A COMPLETE RING OF FIBRES, WHICH

EXTEND FROM CILIARY BODY TO THE LENS EQUATOR CIRCUMFERENTIALLY.

• AS THE ZONULAR FIBRES INSERT ON THE LENS CAPSULE, A NARROW SPACE

IS CREATED AROUND THE EQUATOR WHICH IS CALLED THE ‘CANAL OF
HANOVER’.
 MECHANISM OF
ACCOMMODATION
 CONTINUED

• STRUCTURALLY 3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF ZONULAR FIBRES ARE THERE=

• 1)FIRST TYPE FIBRES-

THICK, WAVY & LIE NEAR VITREOUS

• 2)SECOND TYPE FIBRES-

THIN & FLAT

• 3)THIRD TYPE FIBRES-

VERY FINE & RUN A CIRCULAR COURSE
PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY OF
LENS
• THE HUMAN LENS GROWS CONTINUOUSLY THROUGHOUT LIFE, ADDING
ABOUT 29 MICRON TO ITS SAGITTAL THICKNESS EACH YEAR
• FROM THE 6TH-7TH WEEK OF INTRAUTERINE LIFE (18 MM EMBRYO) THE
LENS IS ELONGATED IN THE ANTEROPOSTERIOR PLANE, IN THE DIRECTION
OF THE PRIMARY LENS FIBRES.
• DURING THE 18-24 MM STAGE THE LENS IS APPROXIMATELY SPHERICAL.
WITH THE APPEARANCE OF THE SECONDARY LENS FIBRES, AT THE 26 MM
STAGE, THE LENS BECOMES WIDER IN ITS EQUATORIAL DIAMETER.
• THE ZONULE, WHICH APPEARS LATER, AT THE 65 MM STAGE OF FETAL LIFE,
PLAYS NO ROLE IN THIS INITIAL WIDENING OF THE LENS.
 CONTINUED

• INTRAUTERINE GROWTH OF THE LENS IS RAPID.

• THE LENS INCREASES IN MASS AND VOLUME AND EXPANDS IN BOTH THE
SAGITTAL AND EQUATORIAL PLANES.

• AT BIRTH IT IS ALMOST SPHERICAL, BUT IS WIDER IN THE EQUATORIAL PLANE.

• IN THE FIRST TWO DECADES AFTER BIRTH, EXPANSION CEASES IN THE

SAGITTAL PLANE AND CONTINUES IN THE EQUATORIAL PLANE ALONE
 CONTINUED
• THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF THE LENS REMAINS MORE OR
LESS CONSTANT THROUGHOUT LIFE AND THERE IS NO
EVIDENCE IN THE NORMAL LENS THAT NUCLEAR DENSITY IS
SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE AGEING EYE.

• ALTHOUGH THE INCREASE IN THICKNESS IN THE LENS IS DUE

TO THE ADDITION OF FIBRES TO THE SUPERFICIAL CORTEX,
THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A COMPACTION OF THE CENTRAL
LENS FIBRES WITH TIME, SO THAT A TRAUMATIC LENS
OPACITY FORMED AT THE LENS RECEDES FROM THE
SURFACE AT APPROXIMATELY TWICE THE SPEED AT WHICH
THE LENS IS GROWING
 CONTINUED
• THE SURFACES OF THE LENS ARE BATHED BY AQUEOUS
HUMOUR WHICH IS REPLENISHED BY ITS BULK FLOW
ANTERIORLY.
• POSTERIORLY, MOVEMENT OF AQUEOUS IS RESTRICTED BY
THE PRESENCE OF THE ZONULAR APPARATUS.
• THE GLUCOSE CONTENT OF THE AQUEOUS IS SIMILAR TO
THAT OF PLASMA (100 MG) AND IS SLIGHTLY LOWER IN THE
VITREOUS (90 MG). AQUEOUS OXYGEN IS 60 MMHG
• ONLY 3% OF THE GLUCOSE UTILIZATION IS AEROBIC, VIA
THE KREBS CYCLE, AND THIS ACTIVITY IS CONFINED TO
THE EPITHELIUM AND MOST SUPERFICIAL CORTICAL
FIBRES.
 CONTINUED
• THE LENS CAPSULE IS A MODIFIED BASEMENT MEMBRANE,
AND AS SUCH CONSISTS MAINLY OF COLLAGEN EMBEDDED
IN A GLYCOPROTEIN MATRIX
• ABOUT 10% OF THE CAPSULE IS CARBOHYDRATE.
• THE CAPSULE FORMS A BARRIER TO PARTICULATE MATTER
SUCH AS BACTERIA AND INFLAMMATORY CELLS, BUT WILL
ALLOW THE DIFFUSION OF MOLECULES SMALLER THAN
THE SIZE OF HAEMOGLOBIN .
• ALTHOUGH THE CAPSULE CONTAINS NO ELASTIN, IT IS
THOUGHT TO BE HIGHLY ELASTIC IN BEHAVIOUR.
 CONTINUED

• THE HIGH REFRACTIVE INDEX OF THE LENS IS ACHIEVED BY

THE HIGH PROTEIN CONTENT OF THE FIBRES AND ITS
TRANSPARENCY RESULTS FROM THE ORGANIZATION AND
REGULARITY OF FIBRE PACKING.

• THE HOMOGENEOUS STRUCTURE OF FIBRES WITHIN EACH

GENERATION, AND THE SMALL SIZE OF THE EXTRACELLULAR
SPACE (UNDER 1% OF LENS VOLUME) ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE
LENS TRANSPARENCY.

• IN ADDITION TO THIS, THE FIBRES AND EPITHELIAL CELLS

THEMSELVES ARE NOT RICH IN ORGANELLES. THE CELL NUCLEI
OF THE EPITHELIUM ARE PRESENT IN A MONOLAYER.
 CONTINUED

• THE CAPSULE IS NORMALLY UNDER TENSION, SO WHEN CUT OR

RUPTURED ITS EDGES ROLL OUT AND THEN CURL UP.

• THIS PROPERTY OF ELASTIC RECOIL IS USED DURING

EXTRACAPSULAR LENS EXTRACTION WHEN THE CAPSULE IS
INCISED TO RELEASE THE LENS CONTENTS,

• SAME IS SEEN IN THE OPERATION OF YAG CAPSULOTOMY WHEN A

GAP IS CUT IN THE POSTERIOR CAPSULAR SHEET.
 METABOLISM OF LENS

• GLUCOSE FROM THE AQUEOUS MAINLY & THE VITREOUS DIFFUSES INTO
THE LENS & IS RAPIDLY METABOLIZED THROUGH 4 PATHWAYS=
1)ANAEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS
2)KREBS CYCLE
3)HEXOSE MONOPHOSPHATE SHUNT
4)SORBITOL PATHWAY

• GLYCOLYSIS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 80-85% GLUCOSE UTILIZATION & THE

PENTOSE PHOSPHATE SHUNT ACCOUNTS FOR 12-15%, WHILE 3% OF LENS
GLUCOSE IS METABOLIZED BY KREBS CYCLE
• LENS CORTEX IS THE MOST METABOLICALLY ACTIVE REGION & THE
ENERGY RELEASED FROM GLUCOSE METABOLISM IS USED FOR
PRODUCTION OF GLUTATHIONE, ION TRANSPORTATION & PRODUCTION
OF LARGE MOLECULES.
 CONTINUED
• GLUTATHIONE PRODUCED FROM GLUCOSE METABOLISM IS
REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN THE PROTEINS IN REDUCED STATE
THUS RETAINING THE LENS-PUMP INTEGRITY
• GLUTATHIONE’S CONCENTATION FALLS WITH ADVANCING
AGE, HOWEVER IT’S A RELATIVE FALL WHICH OCCURS DUE TO
INCREASE IN WEIGHT OF THE LENS WITH AGE
• EPITHELIUM OF THE LENS CONTAINS NA+-K+-ATPASE & A
CALMODULIN DEPENDENT CA++-ACTIVATED ATPASE , BOTH
OF WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACTIVE TRANSPORT OF
ELECTROLYTES
• CONCENTRATION OF AMINO-ACIDS IS HIGHER IN THE LENS
THAN THE SURROUNDING AQUEOUS HUMOUR OR VITREOUS
HUMOUR SUGGESTING THAT THERE IS ALSO AN ACTIVE
TRANSPORT MECHANISM FOR AMINO-ACIDS.
 CONTINUED

• ACTIVE TRANSPORT MECHANISM ARE CONCERNED WITH

AMINO-ACIDS, POTASSIUM, TAURINE, INOSITOL & EXTRUSION
OF SODIUM
• PASSIVE TRANSPORT OR EXCHANGE ACROSS THE LENS
CAPSULE OCCURS FOR WATER, IONS & WASTE PRODUCTS OF
METABOLISM LIKE LACTIC ACID & CARBON DIOXIDE
• METABOLIC ACTIVITY AT THE CENTRE OF THE LENS IS
NEGLIGIBLE AND THE PROTEINS DO NOT TURN OVER
SIGNIFICANTLY
• THEY ARE THEREFORE EXTREMELY LONGLIVED AND
VULNERABLE TO OXIDATIVE AND OTHER INFLUENCES WHICH
MAY UNFOLD THE PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND EXPOSE
SULPHYDRYL GROUPS
 CONTINUED

• THESE GROUPS MAY THEN ENGAGE IN DISULPHIDE BONDING,

WHICH RESULTS IN FURTHER CROSSLINKING AND
CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES

• SUCH CHANGES MAY LEAD TO CATARACT FORMATION

• THE OPACITY OF CATARACT IS DUE TO ZONES OF INCREASED

SCATTERING WITHIN ITS SUBSTANCE. THIS MAY BE CAUSED BY A
BREAKDOWN OF FIBRE REGULARITY, THE PRODUCTS OF
MEMBRANE DEGRADATION, AND BY THE SCATTERING PRODUCED
BY MACROMOLECULAR PROTEIN AGGREGATES.
 CONTINUED

• AS STATED PENTOSE SHUNT PATHWAY EXISTS IN THE LENS

AND IS INVOLVED IN RIBONUCLEOPROTEIN SYNTHESIS, AND
A SORBITOL PATHWAY IS PRESENT WHICH MAY, AMONG
OTHER THINGS, PROVIDE COENZYME FOR THE PENTOSE
SHUNT.
• SORBITOL PATHWAY IN LENS DOES NOT GENERATE ANY ATP &
ITS PURPOSE IN NORMAL LENS IS YET TO BE UNDERSTOOD,
HOWEVER IT HAS RECEIVED WIDE ATTENTION BECAUSE OF
ITS ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETIC CATARACT.
• IN THE HYPERGLYCEMIC STATE THE AFFINITY OF ALDOSE
REDUCTASE (THE ENZYME IN FIRST STEP OF SORBITOL
PATHWAY) FOR GLUCOSE RISES CAUSING ACCUMULATION OF
EXCESS SORBITOL WITHIN LENS FIBRILS
 CONTINUED

• SWELLING OF LENS FIBRILS THEN OCCURS WHEN WATER MOVES

IN TO MAINTAIN OSMOTIC BALANCE, THE EXCESS WATER CAUSES
DISRUPTION OF FIBRILS & CATARACT FORMATION

• EXCESSIVE ACTIVATION OF THE SORBITOL PATHWAY LEADS TO

INCREASED CONCENTRATIONS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES &
DECREASED CONCENTRATIONS OF NITRIC OXIDE & GLUTATHIONE,
WHICH AS STATED IS IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THE PROTEINS IN
REDUCED STATE & RETAIN THE LENS-PUMP INTEGRITY
 CONCLUSION

• LENS IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE HUMAN EYE &

ITS TRANSPARENCY IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR FOR THE
VISION & IT IS MAINTAINED THROUGH VARIOUS ANATOMICAL
& PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS.

• FACTORS THAT PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MAINTAINING THE

CLARITY OF LENS=
• 1)SINGLE LAYER OF EPITHELIAL CELLS WHICH IS NOT THICK

• 2)SEMIPERMEABLE CHARACTER OF LENS CAPSULE

 CONTINUED

• 3)SPARSITY & HIGHLY PACKED NATURE OF LENS CELLS, THE

LENS EXTRACELLULAR SPACE IS LESS THAN 5% OF ITS
TOTAL VOLUME, SO THE ZONES OF DISCONTINUITY ARE
VERY SMALL COMPARED TO THE WAVELENGTH OF LIGHT.

• 4)CHARACTERISTIC ARRANGEMENT OF LENS PROTEINS.

• 5)PUMP MECHANISM OF THE LENS FIBRE, WHICH

REGULATES THE ELECTROLYTE & WATER BALANCE IN THE
LENS & MAINTAINS RELATIVE DEHYDRATION OF LENS.
 CONTINUED

• 6)AVASCULARITY OF THE LENS

• 7)AUTO-OXIDATION-
HIGH CONCENTRATION OF REDUCED GLUTATHIONE IN THE
LENS MAINTAINS THE LENS PROTEINS IN A REDUCED STATE
& ENSURES THE INTEGRITY OF THE CELL MEMBRANE PUMP.
THANK
YOU