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Ophthalmology

Cataracts dissolved

Nature volume 523, pages 540–541 (2015)Cite this article

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Mutations underlying hereditary cataracts in two families impair the function of an enzyme that synthesizes the lens molecule lanosterol. The finding may lead to non-surgical prevention and treatment of cataracts. See Letter p.607

In this issue, Zhao et al.1 (page 607) identify a mutation in the gene encoding the enzyme lanosterol synthase (LSS) as the cause of inherited cataracts in two families. LSS, which is produced in the lens, synthesizes lanosterol, a molecule that is amphipathic (that is, it has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties). The authors show that lanosterol can dissolve the precipitates, and even the amyloid-like fibril structures, of mutant lens crystallin proteins that are the cause of cataracts in some individuals. Furthermore, lanosterol effectively treated naturally occurring cataracts in rabbit lenses and in dogs in vivo. In addition to elucidating the visual process, this work promises to continue in the tradition of lens research by expanding scientific insight into broad and often seemingly unrelated areas of enquiry.

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Figure 1: The eye lens.

Paul Fitzgerald/Ref. 16

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  1. J. Fielding Hejtmancik is in the Ophthalmic Molecular Genetics Section, Ophthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, Rockville, Maryland 20892-9402, USA.,

    J. Fielding Hejtmancik

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Correspondence to J. Fielding Hejtmancik.

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Hejtmancik, J. Cataracts dissolved. Nature 523, 540–541 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14629

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