Lens epithelium and radiation cataract. I. Preliminary studies
B. V. Worgul, G. R. Merriam, A. Szechter and D. Srinivasan
The migration of epithelial cells during fibergenesis in the lenses of
young rats was determined by tritiated thymidine autoradiography. Cells
initially labeled in the germinative zone appeared in the lens bow within
seven days. Irradiation with either 600 or 2,400 rads of x-rays did not
greatly alter the migration rate, but it did interfere with normal
differentiation and proper fiber deposition, as manifested by a
displacement posteriorly of the lens bow nuclei and an accumulation of
abnormal nucleated fibers in the posterior part of the cortex. The presence
of labeled cells in those regions prior to the onset of opacification is
consistent with the possibility of direct epithelial cell involvement in
radiation cataractogenesis.
