Trabecular meshwork-lens epithelial cell interaction may underlie infantile aphakic glaucoma development

The authors of this laboratory study found that changes they observed in trabecular meshwork cells after exposure to lens epithelial cells resembled changes seen in cases of primary open-angle glaucoma. These results strengthened the suspicion that exposed lens epithelial cells are involved in the development of infantile aphakic glaucoma as a postoperative complication of cataract surgery in early childhood.

The current study was conducted by analyzing the structural changes and differential gene and protein expression in trabecular meshwork cells that were cocultured with lens epithelial cells. These experimental conditions led to changes in trabecular meshwork protein expression that were mainly cytoskeletal; expression of genes, such as those related to organ and cell morphogenesis, inflammatory response, response to stimulus, ion homeostasis, and several signaling pathways; and cell structural features, such as increases in volume and size and a decrease in cell-cell interactions.