Figure 3. β-secretase activity assay in lens epithelia of healthy and cataract eyes. The cortical (C) and nuclear (N) opacity of the cataract was classified with the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III), with increasing cataract severity from Groups I to IV. Group I: C2–3N1–2; Group II, C3–4N2–3; Group III, C4–5N3–4; and Group IV, C4–5N4–5. The data are the means ± standard deviation (SD). The experiment was repeated three times in each group. *p<0.01, **p<0.001, with one-way ANOVA and least significant difference (LSD) tests. No statistically significant differences among the four subgroups of age-related cataracts (ARCs; from Group I to Group IV) were found (p>0.05).