Purpose Little is known about whether sugar intake is a risk factor for myopia, and the influence of glycemic control remains unclear, with inconsistent results reported. This study aimed to clarify this uncertainty by evaluating the link between multiple glycemic traits and myopia. Methods We employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design using summary statistics from independent genome-wide association studies. A total of six glycemic traits, including adiponectin, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and proinsulin levels, were used as exposures, and myopia was used as the outcome. The inverse-variance-weighted (IVW) method was the main applied analytic tool and was complemented with comprehensive sensitivity analyses. Results Out of the six glycemic traits studied, we found that adiponectin was significantly associated with myopia. The genetically predicted level of adiponectin was consistently negatively associated with myopia incidence: IVW (odds ratio [OR] = 0.990; P = 2.66 × 10 −3 ), MR Egger (OR = 0.983; P = 3.47 × 10 −3 ), weighted median method (OR = 0.989; P = 0.01), and weighted mode method (OR = 0.987; P = 0.01). Evidence from all sensitivity analyses further supported these associations. In addition, a higher HbA1c level was associated with a greater risk of myopia: IVW (OR = 1.022; P = 3.06 × 10 −5 ). Conclusions Genetic evidence shows that low adiponectin levels and high HbA1c are associated with an increased risk of myopia. Given that physical activity and sugar intake are controllable variables in blood glycemia treatment, these findings provide new insights into potential strategies to delay myopia onset.
Background Autophagy is an important process that maintains the quality of intracellular proteins and organelles. There is extensive evidence that autophagy has an important role in the lens. Human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) play a key role in the internal homeostasis of the lens. HLEC subtypes have been identified, but autophagy-prominent cell clusters among HLECs have not been characterized. Purpose To explore the existence of autophagy-prominent cell clusters in HLECs. Methods Three donated lenses (HLECs from two whole lenses and HLECs from one lens without the anterior central 6-mm zone) were used for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). AUCell and AddModuleScore analysis were used to identify potential autophagy-prominent cell clusters. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to confirm the results. Results High-quality transcripts from 18,120 cells were acquired by scRNA-seq of the two intact lenses. Unsupervised clustering classified the cells into four clusters. AUCell and AddModuleScore analysis revealed cluster 1 is autophagy-prominent. scRNA-seq analysis of HLECs from the lens capsule lacking the central zone confirmed the cluster 1 HLECs was located in the central capsule zone. The TEM result showed that greater autophagy activity was observed in the HLECs in central capsule zone, which further supported the above conclusions based on scRNA-seq analysis that autophagy was prominent in the central zone where the cluster 1 HLECs located. Conclusions We identified an autophagy-prominent cell cluster among HLECs and revealed that it was localized in the central zone of the lens capsule. Our findings will aid investigations of autophagy in HLECs and provide insights to guide related research.
Although the cell atlas of the human ocular anterior segment of the human eye was revealed by single‐nucleus RNA sequencing, whether subtypes of lens stem/progenitor cells exist among epithelial cells and the molecular characteristics of cell differentiation of the human lens remain unclear. Single‐cell RNA sequencing is a powerful tool to analyse the heterogeneity of tissues at the single cell level, leading to a better understanding of the processes of cell differentiation. By profiling 18,596 cells in human lens superficial tissue through single‐cell sequencing, we identified two subtypes of lens epithelial cells that specifically expressed C8orf4 and ADAMTSL4 with distinct spatial localization, a new type of fibre cells located directly adjacent to the epithelium, and a subpopulation of ADAMTSL4+ cells that might be lens epithelial stem/progenitor cells. We also found two trajectories of lens epithelial cell differentiation and changes of some important genes during differentiation.
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