L-Type Calcium Channels Play a Critical Role in Maintaining Lens Transparency by Regulating Phosphorylation of Aquaporin-0 and Myosin Light Chain and Expression of Connexins
Figure 3
Inhibition of LTCCs by felodipine induces extensive disorganization and swelling of cortical fiber cells in ex-vivo organ cultured mouse lenses without any noticeable cell death.
Treatment of organ cultured mouse lenses (P21 to P26) with felodipine (10 µM) induced progressive disorganization of cortical fiber cells (arrows) starting from 6 hrs of treatment. After 24 hrs of drug treatment, lens cortical fibers exhibited extensive swelling (see inserts and arrows) with large intracellular spaces based on light microscope examination (H&E staining) (A) and fluorescence microscopy analysis of equatorial plane tissue specimens using wheat germ agglutinin staining (B & C). The images in Panel C indicate the magnified area depicted in Panel B with squares. DMSO treated control lenses remained histologically intact at both 6 (not shown) and 24 hrs of incubation. D. TUNEL and Hoechst staining of felodipine treated (both 6 and 24 hr) and control lenses reveals comparable staining patterns for both the TUNEL positive (green cells indicated with arrows) and cell nuclei (in blue). Bars indicate magnification. Epi: Epithelium, CF: Cortical fibers, NF: Nuclear fibers.