Overaccumulation of transforming growth factor-beta1 and basic fibroblast growth factor in lens epithelial cells of congenital cataract

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) at gene and protein levels in lens epithelial cells of anterior subcapsular congenital cataracts (ASCC).

Design: Case-control study and analysis.

Participants: Twenty-six eyes with ASCC were studied, and 14 eyes with transparent lenses were used as controls.

Methods: Anterior epithelium capsules with ASCC were obtained from patients who had undergone extracapsular cataract extraction. The accumulation of TGF-beta1 and bFGF gene and protein was determined by reverse transcription-real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting.

Results: The results from RT-PCR showed that the accumulation of TGF-beta1 and bFGF mRNA in lens epithelial cells of ASCC was significantly higher compared with controls in both male and female samples. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the accumulation of bFGF mRNA and TGF-beta1 mRNA. Western blotting results demonstrated that the accumulation of TGFbeta1 and bFGF proteins in lens epithelial cells with ASCC was also highly elevated.

Conclusions: The overaccumulation of TGF-beta1 and bFGF in lens epithelial cells may play an important role in the formation of subcapsular congenital cataract.