Figure 2. Histological analysis of rat lens epithelial explants

Control (A and B), FGF-2 (C and D), TGF-β2 (E and F), and TGF-β2/FGF-2 (G and H) lens epithelial explants under normal conditions (A, C, E, and G) and after heat shocked treatment (B, D, F, and H) are shown (n=4 for each treatment group). Control epithelial cells (A and B) show normal morphology. FGF-2 treated explants (C and D) have rounder cells and also show greater cell density than the control explants. Treatment with TGF-β2 (E-H) induced formation of multilayer plaques (arrows). The simultaneous treatment of epithelial explants with TGF-β2 and FGF-2 (G and H) induced the formation of considerably larger and more diffused plaques than TGF-β2 (E and F) alone. Both the heat shocked and normal cultured explants show similar phenotype. However, the plaques formed on the heat shocked TGF-β2/FGF-2 explants are less severe and less expansive than the non-heat shocked TGF-β2/FGF-2 plaques. The scale bar represents 100 μm. I: The video (below) demonstrate a confocal z-stack on a y-axis projection of a TGF-β2/FGF-2 treated explant stained for α-SMA (green) and nuclei (DAPI:blue). This video shows multiple cell layers with significant α-SMA staining.

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