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A dimensionless ordered pull-through model of the mammalian lens epithelium evidences scaling across species and explains the age-dependent changes in cell density in the human lens

Wu, J.J.; Wu, W.; Tholozan, F.M.; Saunter, C.D.; Girkin, J.M.; Quinlan, R.A.

A dimensionless ordered pull-through model of the mammalian lens epithelium evidences scaling across species and explains the age-dependent changes in cell density in the human lens Thumbnail


Authors

F.M. Tholozan

C.D. Saunter



Abstract

We present a mathematical (ordered pull-through; OPT) model of the cell-density profile for the mammalian lens epithelium together with new experimental data. The model is based upon dimensionless parameters, an important criterion for inter-species comparisons where lens sizes can vary greatly (e.g. bovine (approx. 18 mm); mouse (approx. 2 mm)) and confirms that mammalian lenses scale with size. The validated model includes two parameters: β/α, which is the ratio of the proliferation rate in the peripheral and in the central region of the lens; and γGZ, a dimensionless pull-through parameter that accounts for the cell transition and exit from the epithelium into the lens body. Best-fit values were determined for mouse, rat, rabbit, bovine and human lens epithelia. The OPT model accounts for the peak in cell density at the periphery of the lens epithelium, a region where cell proliferation is concentrated and reaches a maximum coincident with the germinative zone. The β/α ratio correlates with the measured FGF-2 gradient, a morphogen critical to lens cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. As proliferation declines with age, the OPT model predicted age-dependent changes in cell-density profiles, which we observed in mouse and human lenses.

Citation

Wu, J., Wu, W., Tholozan, F., Saunter, C., Girkin, J., & Quinlan, R. (2015). A dimensionless ordered pull-through model of the mammalian lens epithelium evidences scaling across species and explains the age-dependent changes in cell density in the human lens. Journal of the Royal Society. Interface, 12(108), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0391

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 28, 2015
Online Publication Date Jul 6, 2015
Publication Date Jul 1, 2015
Deposit Date Nov 18, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
Print ISSN 1742-5689
Electronic ISSN 1742-5662
Publisher The Royal Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 108
DOI https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2015.0391
Keywords Eye lens, Cell proliferation, Ageing, Cataract, Mathematical model, Scaling.

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