# The Influence of Capsule Composition on Lens Biology

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · 2020 · $382,422

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Extracapsular cataract surgery is a marvel of modern medicine that has greatly reduced
the global burden of cataract-related blindness. However, optimal implantation of a
replacement intraocular lens requires preservation of most of the lens capsule, the basement
membrane surrounding the lens. Since lens epithelial cells (LECs) are tightly attached to the
lens capsule, it is not possible to remove all LECs during cataract surgery, and these cells
undergo robust wound healing responses characterized by cell proliferation and the
transdifferentiation of LECs to scar producing myofibroblasts. While modern intraocular lens
implants can sequester myofibroblasts away from the ocular axis short term, these cells can
survive long term at the periphery of the capsular bag, and often escape years after surgery,
migrating into the visual axis, where they can proliferate, wrinkle the capsule, and produce
fibrotic extracellular matrix molecules, leading to the onset of posterior capsular opacification
(PCO) years after the initial cataract surgery. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which
myofibroblasts survive and maintain their phenotype long term is of great importance. During
the last grant cycle, we discovered that fibronectin produced by lens cells after surgery was
critical for the maintenance of the fibrotic phenotype of LECs post fiber cell removal. This
proposal seeks to investigate the mechanisms by which fibronectin and its interacting partners
mediate the fibrotic phenotype of lens epithelial cells.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9910398
- **Project number:** 5R01EY015279-16
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
- **Principal Investigator:** MELINDA K DUNCAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $382,422
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2003-12-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9910398

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9910398, The Influence of Capsule Composition on Lens Biology (5R01EY015279-16). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9910398. Licensed CC0.

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