Light scattering in the C57BL/6 mouse lens.

PURPOSE: To characterize inherent light scattering in the C57BL/6 mouse lens.

METHODS

Lenses from 20 6-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were extracted from freshly enucleated globes and microsurgically cleaned of remnants of the ciliary body. Lens light scattering was measured quantitatively with a light dissemination meter (LDM). Morphological properties of the mouse lenses were documented using grid- and dark-field illumination photography. Analysis of variance was performed to establish variance for animals, variance between left and right eyes and variance for measurements.

RESULTS

Average inherent light scattering in the C57BL/6 mouse lens is 0.16 +/- 0.02 tEDC (transformed equivalent diazepam concentration). The mean size of a mouse lens at 6 weeks is 1.9 mm in diameter. Two lenses featured pre-existing cortical lens opacities. Variance for animals was assessed to be 7.9 10(- 4) tEDC(2), variance for measurements was 1.6 10(- 4) tEDC(2), and variance between left and right eyes was 8.8 10(- 4) tEDC(2). The tolerance limit for non-pathological light scattering was determined to 0.26 tEDC. No significant difference in light scattering between left and right mouse lenses was found. The minimum number of C57BL/6 mice required for detection of a 10% experimentally induced change in light scattering intensity was estimated to be 50 for independent group experiments and 25 for paired design experiments.

CONCLUSIONS

The C57BL/6 mouse is a suitable animal in which to conduct experiments on light scattering or cataractogenesis with high precision at reasonable sample sizes. Before including C57BL/6 mice into a study on cataractogenesis, pre-existing lens opacities such as congenital cataract must be excluded.