title: Specific spatial distribution of caspase-3 in normal lenses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the distribution of active caspase-3 in rat eye lens epithelium.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 120 sagittal sections from forty rats were assessed for active caspase-3 labelling using immunohistochemistry. Lens epithelial cells were counted, and the fraction of active caspase-3 labelled cells and their relative positions were identified in each section.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Active caspase-3 is present in normal lens epithelium. The active caspase-3 expression was higher in the anterior pole of the lens. Probability of radial spatial distribution of labelling was fitted with a logistic model. The increase rate and the inflection point were estimated as CI (0.95) to 23 ± 3 cells and 114 ± 3 cells, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The gradually decreasing active caspase-3 labelling from the anterior pole to the periphery suggests that active caspase-3 may be involved in normal protein turnover caused by, for example, incident light.
authors.affiliation: Gullstrand lab, Ophthalmology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nooshin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Talebizadeh
authors.forename: Zhaohua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kronschläger
authors.forename: Finn
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hallböök
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Söderberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: C505410:Casp3 protein, rat; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Apoptosis; Caspase-3; Immunohistochemistry; UVR; lens