Abstract
Purpose :
Several aquaporins (AQPs) has been identified in the lens and known to play essential roles in maintaining lens transparency. AQP1 is a well-known water transporter working for lens homeostasis. AQP8, a perfusion facilitator of hydrogen peroxide, has been found on human lens epithelial cells (LECs) in our previous work. The purpose of this study is to investigate intracellular localization of AQP1 and 8 in the lens.
Methods :
Lens samples were collected form male C57BL/6J mice at 14 weeks of age. Sections were immunostained with antibodies against mouse AQP1 or 8 and observed with light microscope
Results :
Immunolabelling of both AQP1 and 8 distributed in LECs throughout the central anterior surface to the germinal center. Both AQP1 and 8 were detected surrounding the nucleus but distributed in different patterns in the cytoplasm. AQP1 located surrounding the intracellular vesicles near the basal membrane which contacts the aqueous humor while AQP8 distributed throughout the cytoplasm as relatively homogenous small granules. AQP8 was also observed in the cell membrane of fiber cells in the outer cortex although AQP1 was not detected in these cells.
Conclusions :
In LECs, AQP8 distributed in a granular pattern which is consistent with the expression of AQP8 in the mitochondria, suggesting that AQP8 may facilitate the release of H2O2 from the mitochondria. The AQP1 localization to surround intracellular vesicles possibly containing water indicates that AQP1 may play an important role in water excretion form LECs.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.