HAGEMAN-FACTOR AND KALLIKREIN IN PATHOGENESIS OF SENILE CATARACTS ANDTHE PSEUDOEXFOLIATION SYNDROME

It is thought that dystrophic changes in the human aging anterior eye are due to lipid peroxidation in both the cortical and nuclear structu res of the lens under the conditions of ischemia. These changes are of ten accompanied by only lens opacification (senile cataract-SC) or by formation of amorphous or fibrillar deposits in anterior eye, disturba nces of eye hydrodynamics and lens opacification (pseudoexfoliation sy ndrome-PES). Our results suggest that the main reason of dystrophic ch anges in the tissues of the aging anterior eye is the disturbance of t he haemato-ophthalmic barrier and that the plasma kallikrein-kinin sys tem takes part in this disturbance. Penetration of plasma proteins, su ch as C-reactive protein, complement components, immunoglobulins and c oagulation factors, from plasma into the aqueous humor is responsible for damaging epithelial structures of anterior eye and formation of ps eudoexfoliative material. Using ELISA, the C-reactive protein, IgG and IgM antigens have been shown to localize on the surface of the opaque lenses. Presence of these complement binding proteins in the superfic ial lens structures as well as the high C3a concentration in the aqueo us humor substantiates the pathogenic role of complement activation in the lenticular epithelium upon cataract and PES formation.