Aquaporin 5 maintains lens transparency by regulating the lysosomal pathway using circRNA

Abstract

The lens is the main refractive structure of the eyeball. The transparency of the lens is important. 1 The inner lens fibre is completely surrounded by the transparent lens capsule. A layer of epithelial cells is attached to the medical surface of the anterior lens capsule. When the epithelial cells reach the equator, they continue to elongate and bend, and become to lens fibres cells. 2 Degradation of organelles begins in embryonic primary lens epithelial cells (LEC), and it continues in lens fibre cells after birth. 3,4 The transformation of lens epithelial cells into lens fibre cells occurs throughout life, but its level and speed gradually decrease with age. 4,5 Aquaporins (AQPs), water-selective channel proteins, allow water to move rapidly across the plasma membrane. Three aquaporins are expressed in mammalian cornea (AQP1, AQP3 and AQP5) and three in the lens (AQP0, AQP1 and AQP5). 6 AQP5 was expressed in lens