Cytoplasmic phase separation in formation of galactosemic cataract in lenses of young rats

Abstract

The age dependence of the cytoplasmic phase separation of lenses was determined in normal and galactosemic young rats, an excellent model for human cataract. In the normal lens the temperature for the phase separation decreased monotonically with age. In the lenses of rats fed with a high galactose diet the phase separation temperature was higher with the development of galactosemia. When the phase separation temperature became higher than the ocular temperature, the nuclear opacity appeared in vivo. The opacity resulted from light scattering by spatial fluctuations of the refractive index formed by interspersed regions of 2 separated phases in the fiber cell cytoplasm. Apparently the nuclear opacity developing in the lens of galactosemic rats was manifestation of phase separation of the lens fiber cytoplasm.