The effect of anti-TGF-β2 antibody functionalized intraocular lens on lens epithelial cell migration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Migration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lens epithelial cells (LECs) are main causes of central posterior capsule opacification after cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. In this study, commercially available hydrophobic acrylic IOLs were first pretreated with atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma to produce plenty of negatively charged chemical groups onto IOL surface, then polyethylenimine was deposited onto IOL surfaces as a precursor monolayer, and then anti-TGF-β2 (anti-T) antibody and poly-l-lysine were sequentially deposited onto IOL surface for four cycles followed by another upmost monolayer of anti-T antibody via layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. After the fabrication of anti-T antibody multilayers on IOL surface, the surface characteristics of the anti-T antibody functionalized IOL, as well as its effect on LECs adhesion, proliferation, migration and EMT were then tested in this study. Our results revealed that anti-T antibody multilayers could be successfully immobilized onto IOL surfaces by plasma pretreatment and layer-by-layer self-assembly technique, and could keep stable for at least 3 months on IOL surface. The anti-T antibody immobilized in the multilayers on IOL surfaces showed good immunological activity by its specific antigen-antibody interaction with exogenous TGF-β2. Anti-T antibody functionalized IOL surface was as smooth and flat as the untreated IOL surface. No difference in optical or physical properties was found between the anti-T antibody functionalized IOLs and the untreated IOLs. Compared with the untreated IOLs, the anti-T antibody functionalized IOL greatly inhibited LECs from migration and EMT, yet showed only transient inhibition to LECs adhesion and no inhibition to LECs proliferation. With these data, we demonstrate a simple, inexpensive, and feasible method to fabricate surface functionalized IOL for in situ capture and neutralization of TGF-β2 in the capsular bag, which might be a possible solution to preventing posterior capsule opacification after cataract surgery.