Mild Photothermal Therapy Prevents Posterior Capsule Opacification Through Cytoskeletal Remodeling.

Cataract is the first leading cause of blindness in the world and posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is the most common long-term complication after surgery. The primary pathogenic processes contributing to PCO are the proliferation and migration of residual lens epithelial cells (LECs). This study aimed to explore the mild photothermal effect on LECs. Interestingly, we found that the mild photothermal effect significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of LECs. The live cell fluorescence imaging revealed that the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton and cell morphology attributed to the inhibition effect. Further mechanistic studies at molecular level suggest that the mild photothermal effect can regulate the phosphorylation of ERM, YAP, and Cofilin and thereby affect the proliferation and migration of LECs. In order to explore the potential clinical application of mild photothermal therapy for PCO prevention, we prepared PDA/PVA gel rings with photothermal effect by the repeated freeze-thaw method and conducted experiments in vivo, which achieved favorable PCO prevention effect. Overall, our study shows that the mild photothermal effect can regulate the proliferation and migration of LECs through cytoskeletal remodeling and the results of experiments in vivo demonstrate that mild photothermal effect is a promising approach for PCO prevention. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.