Abstract
This paper describes differences in the adaptivity to the extraenvironment between two opaque situations in human cataract lenses after enucleation. The early and the premature cataract lenses of men were incubated in balanced salt solution containing 10 mM N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) for three hours. The pH value of the medium containing the early cataract lens decreased more than that of the premature cataract lens. This pH value is correlated with increasing lactic acid production in the incubation medium from the cataract lenses. The early cataract lenses maintained normal cation level after three hours of incubation. However, the premature cataract lenses developed into mature cataract as a result of decreasing K+ and increasing Na+ levels. These results suggest that the early cataract lenses may retain normal metabolic activity in vivo, presumably due to normal levels of enzyme activities. In contrast, enzymatic activities in the premature cataract have already decreased. This short time incubation method may therefore be a useful means for monitoring the metabolic activity during various stages of the human cataract lens.
