introduction: among the components of the extracellular matrix (ecm) and basement membrane (bm), laminitis heterotrimeric glycoprotein (laminin) and collagen type iv are the most important. in a previous study we have examined the role of collagen type iv in the developing lens capsule. the present study aims to determine the appearance and distribution of laminin in the bm and ecm of lenses du...

Early studies on lens induction suggested that the optic vesicle, the precursor of the retina, was the primary inducer of the lens; however, more recent experiments with amphibians establish an important role for earlier inductive interactions between anterior neural plate and adjacent presumptive lens ectoderm in lens formation. We report here experiments assessing key inductive interactions i...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of SPARC in the regulation of the expression and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in the lens capsule. METHODS Wild-type (SP+/+) and SPARC-null (SP-/-) mice of embryonic day (E)14 to 3 months of age were examined. Transcript levels of lens basement membrane (BM) components were analyzed by semiquantitative RT-PCR with mRNA from lens epithelia. ...

background: increased oxygen free radical and reduced glutathione level in the eye lens are important risk factor for cataract formation. the antioxidative property and increasing cellular and extra cellular glutathione level have been reported by several herbal medicines including silymarin.  objective: in present interventional study silybum marianum l. seed extract (silymarin) was tested aga...

PURPOSE This study was performed to elucidate the correlation between added lens refill material and enhanced lens power as well as the correlation between lens refilling volume and accommodative amplitude as determined by equatorial stretching of ex vivo refilled pigs' lenses. METHODS Nine porcine lenses were refilled with increasing amounts of silicone oil. After each refill step, the lens ...

Integrins have been proposed to play a major role in lens morphogenesis. To determine the role of beta1-integrin and its down-stream signaling partner, integrin linked kinase (ILK), in lens morphogenesis, eyes of WT mice and mice with a nestin-linked conditional knockout of beta1-integrin or ILK were analyzed for defects in lens development. Mice, lacking the genes encoding the beta1-integrin s...

UNLABELLED The purpose to do this research was to find out the habits of contact lens wearers towards lens care in this country, and to evaluate the compliance of contact lens wearers. METHODS All respondents underwent an interview regarding questionnaire which was carried out at the Klang Valley and Sabah, Malaysia by trained bilingual optometrists. The questionnaire was obtained from a stud...