Abstract
Presentation Description :
The size, shape, and internal composition of the vertebrate lens are modified continuously throughout life. To gain insights into the processes that specify these properties, we formulated a mathematical model of lens growth in the mouse. The model was used to chart the flow of cells within and between lens cell compartments and calculate the consequent rate of lens growth across the entire lifespan. Simulations obtained using the model were in good agreement with empirical measurements. For much of the lifespan, growth could be modeled adequately by adjusting two parameters only, the size of individual epithelial cells and their proliferative rates. However, modeling early lens development required shortening the duration of the cell cycle considerably. The growth of aged lenses could not be modelled without allowing significant (≈3-fold) compaction of extant fiber cells. These results have implications for the establishment of the lens refractive index gradient, the etiology of cortical cataract, and may provide an explanation for why there has never been a reported case of lenticular cancer.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.