Glucose metabolism by human cataracts in culture.

Metabolism in human senile cataracts has been studied using uniformly labeled [14C]glucose. Intracapsularly extracted lenses were cultured in TC-199 media with a glucose concentration of 5.5 mM. Results show that lactate production accounts for 97% of the glucose metabolized. Under these standard incubation conditions there is negligible accumulation of alpha-glycerol phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, and sorbitol. The rate of lactate production was found to be relatively uniform over a range of cataract severities which were determined from the CCRG classification. The effects of several perturbants in the medium were measured. An ATP concentration of 3 mM was found to inhibit lactate production. Labeled glucose-6-phosphate in the medium was found to produce lactate at a rate approximately one half that of glucose. Elevated glucose concentration resulted in a slight decrease in lactate production and, in some lenses, production of a small amount of sorbitol. Overall, the glycolytic pathway appears to be functioning normally and without regard for cortical and nuclear opacification.