EphA2 Affects Development of the Eye Lens Nucleus and the Gradient of Refractive Index

PURPOSE. Our studies in mouse eye lenses demonstrate that ephrin-A5 and EphA2 are needed for normal epithelial cells and lens transparency. We sought to determine whether EphA2 and ephrin-A5 are important for lens morphometrics, nucleus formation, and refractive index. METHODS. We performed tissue morphometric measurements, electron microscopy, Western blots, and interferometric measurements using an X-ray synchrotron beam source to measure the gradient of refractive index (GRIN) to compare mouse lenses with genetic disruption of EphA2 or ephrin-A5. RESULTS. Morphometric analysis revealed that although there is no change in the overall lens volume, there is a change in lens shape in both EphA2(-/-) lenses and ephrin-A5(-/-) lenses. Surprisingly, EphA2(-/-) lenses had small and soft lens nuclei different from hard lens nuclei of control lenses. SEM images revealed changes in cell morphology of EphA2(-/-) fiber cells close to the center of the lens. Inner EphA2(-/-) lens fibers had more pronounced tongue-and-groove interdigitations and formed globular membrane morphology only in the deepest layers of the lens nucleus. We did not observe nuclear defects in ephrin-A5(-/-) lenses. There was an overall decrease in magnitude of refractive index across EphA2(-/-) lenses, which is most pronounced in the nucleus. CONCLUSIONS. This work reveals that Eph-ephrin signaling plays a role in fiber cell maturation, nuclear compaction, and lens shape. Loss of EphA2 disrupts the nuclear compaction resulting in a small lens nucleus. Our data suggest that Eph-ephrin signaling may be required for fiber cell membrane reorganization and compaction and for establishing a normal GRIN.