Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21245955›Full record

ArticleMolecular vision2011

Inhibition of glucocorticoid-induced alteration of vimentin by a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486 in the organ-cultured rat lens.

Guo-Li Xie, Hong Yan, Zi-Fan Lu

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular vision, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Cataract Induced by Glucocorticoids.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Guo-Li XieDepartment of Ophthalmology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, China.
Hong Yan
Zi-Fan Lu
Air Force Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLong-term application of glucocorticoids as a treatment for conditions such as allergy, autoimmune diseases, and transplantation presents a high risk of development of steroid-induced cataract. The presence of a functional glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in human and rat lens epithelial cells suggests a direct and specific targeting of these lens cells by glucocorticoids. One important cytoskeletal protein in lens epithelial cells is vimentin, which plays an important role in maintaining the normal lens morphology and function. Previous studies have shown that vimentin is involved in signal transduction, changes in cell structure and differentiation, and apoptosis. Based on a model of steroid-induced cataract from our previous study, the present study focuses on whether changes in vimentin can be induced in vitro through specific GR activation in glucocorticoid-induced cataracts of the rat lens.

methodsClear rat lenses, cultured in vitro, were treated with or without dexamethasone (Dex) or RU486 (a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist). Lenses were cultured for 7 days at 37 °C under 5% CO₂, and were observed daily with an inverted microscope. Changes in morphology were followed by Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, transmission electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry. The expression of vimentin mRNA and protein was examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot analysis, respectively, in the capsule-epithelium and fiber tissue of the lenses.

resultsOpacity was obviously present at day 7 in the Dex group. The lenses of the untreated group and the RU486+Dex group remained transparent throughout the incubation. Electron microscopy showed an orderly arrangement of fiber cells and normal cell junctions in the control group and the RU486+Dex group. However, in the Dex group, fiber cells were disarranged and the cell-cell junctions exhibited lacunae. The expression of vimentin protein in the lens capsule-epithelium and fiber tissue decreased in the Dex-treated group, but normal expression of vimentin mRNA was maintained.

conclusionsThese results suggest that the GR-mediated reduction in vimentin may be involved in the formation of steroid-induced cataract.

Indexed as

AnimalsCytoskeletonDexamethasoneEpithelial CellsFemaleGlucocorticoidsHormone AntagonistsLens, CrystallineMicroscopy, Electron, TransmissionMifepristoneOrgan Culture TechniquesRatsRats, Sprague-DawleyReceptors, GlucocorticoidSignal TransductionSteroidsDexamethasoneGlucocorticoidsHormone AntagonistsMifepristoneReceptors, GlucocorticoidSteroidsVimentin

Identifiers

PMID21245955
PMCPMC3021571
OpenAlexW2129789095

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.