Single Particle Protein Profiling for High Myopic Cataract Lens Capsule
Tissue-derived Extracellular Vesicles Reveals Macrophage Involvement and
AQP1 Correlation
Abstract
High myopia stands as the primary cause of blindness globally, with
cataract emerging as one of the most prevalent complications. However,
the underlying mechanism of high myopic cataract remains unknown. The
lens capsule is the basement membrane enclosing the lens. In this study,
we hypothesized lens capsule tissue-derived EVs (Ti-EVs) play a vital
role in the formation of cataract. Ti-EVs were collected from the lens
capsule of high myopic and age-related cataract patients during cataract
surgery, and isolated by ExoDisc. Then we performed proximity barcoding
assay (PBA) for single EV analysis, which enabled us to identify the
alteration of Ti-EV subpopulations associated with high myopic cataract.
Our findings revealed a predominant immunity cluster within cataracts,
characterized by a significantly higher abundance of macrophage-derived
EVs in high myopic cataracts, which strongly correlated with the AQP1
cluster, suggesting a potential interaction between these two components
in the progression of high myopic cataract. It was also observed that
the eye morphogenesis cluster may also work in concert with AQP1,
potentially driving the progression of high myopic cataracts through
this pathway. These findings not only shed new light on the underlying
mechanisms of high myopic cataract, but also pave the way for the
development of novel therapeutic strategies to prevent or treat this
devastating condition.