Low Cholesterol Cues Cataract Development

... Using a rat model of cataracts, Masayuki Mori and researchers at Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine report that mutation of cholesterol biosynthesis genes lanosterol synthase and farnesyl diphosphate farnesyl transferase 1 reduces cholesterol levels and impairs epithelial cell differentiation in the lens. The study, appearing in the February 2006 issue of the JCI, suggests low cholesterol causes lens opacification by impairing cell proliferation. ...