# FIBER CELL FORMATION IN NORMAL AND CATARACTOUS LENSES

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $439,740

## Abstract

The mechanisms that specify the size and shape of the lens are unknown. We have combined
cell biological experiments with mathematical modeling to gain insights into the lens growth
process.
 Modeling suggests that compaction of cells in the lens interior must occur if the lens is
not to overgrow the eye. In the mouse, compaction begins in the third postnatal week and is
largely completed by the sixth, providing an opportunity to examine both the cause and
consequence of the process. In Aim 1, therefore, we will examine the process of fiber cell
compaction and determine how it relates to the formation of the internal refractive index gradient
of the lens. We will test whether compaction is due to the redistribution of water in response to
an oncotic pressure differential established between the inner and outer cell layers.
 In response to the cumulative push provided by cell division at higher latitudes, epithelial
cells flow towards the lens equator, dividing multiple times en route and forming clusters of
clonally-related cells. We hypothesize that this process constitutes the means by which somatic
mutations generated in sun-exposed regions of the epithelium could be amplified and conveyed
into the fiber cell mass. In Aim 2, we will use error-corrected sequencing to test the hypothesis
that human lens epithelial cells harbor low frequency somatic mutations in genes essential for
lens transparency. We will also test whether the syncytial organization of the lens tissue affects
the manner in which somatic mutations manifest in the fiber cell compartment. Finally, we will
port our growth model to the human lens, developing the necessary mathematical framework to
model the spatial behavior of individual cells (and their lineages) over time. In conjunction with
the sequencing experiments, this will allow us to predict the impact on lens transparency of
mutations occurring in individual epithelial cells at specific locations on the lens surface and at
various points in the lifespan.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9980919
- **Project number:** 5R01EY009852-27
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Bassnett
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $439,740
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1992-09-30 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9980919

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9980919, FIBER CELL FORMATION IN NORMAL AND CATARACTOUS LENSES (5R01EY009852-27). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9980919. Licensed CC0.

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