Depth and Strain-Dependent Structural Responses of Mouse Lens Fiber Cells During Whole Lens Shape Changes
Date
2025-02-20
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Abstract
Purpose: To study the relationship between whole lens shape changes and fiber cell responses to externally applied loads.
Methods: Freshly dissected mouse lenses were compressed by applying glass coverslips to the lens anterior, followed by fixation to preserve lens shape, and preparation for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images were collected from the outer cortex to the nucleus, and fiber cell end-to-end curvature and membrane paddle dimensions were measured using ImageJ.
Results: At 23% and 29% axial strain, cortical fiber bundle curvature increased significantly compared to control uncompressed lenses, whereas nuclear fiber bundle curvature was unaffected. Outer cortical fiber cell membrane paddles and protrusions were dramatically distorted in a radial direction, with loss of paddle-associated small protrusions in compressed lenses compared to controls, but nuclear fiber cell morphologies were unchanged. The compression-induced increases in cortical fiber cell curvature and distortion of membrane paddles were reversible, with fiber cell morphologies returning to those of control lenses after the release of load.
Conclusions: Whole lens shape changes due to an increase in axial strain result in increased fiber cell curvature and distorted membrane morphologies in cortical but not nuclear fiber cells, indicating that mechanical strain dissipates with depth. The recovery of normal cortical fiber cell curvature and membrane morphologies after the removal of load and lens rounding back to its original shape suggests elastic properties of the young and mature fiber cells and their membrane paddles.
Description
This article was originally published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. The version of record is available at: https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.2.53.
Copyright 2025 The Authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Keywords
biomechanics, strain transfer, soft materials, lens fiber cell morphology
Citation
Cheheltani, Sepideh, Mahbubul H. Shihan, Justin Parreno, Sondip K. Biswas, Woo-Kuen Lo, and Velia M. Fowler. “Depth and Strain-Dependent Structural Responses of Mouse Lens Fiber Cells During Whole Lens Shape Changes.” Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 66, no. 2 (February 20, 2025): 53. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.2.53.