Objective  To investigate the distribute and expression of AQP1 and AQP0 in lenses with age-related catarac .
Methods  The lens was divided into two groups. The anterior capsules and nuclears of lenes were collected from 17 eyes with nuclear age-related cataract, and 6 transparent lenses from the donor of corneal transplant.The expression of AQP1 and AQP0 protein in lenses were detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot.
Results  Expression sites of AQP1 and AQP0 in the lens were different. The immunohistochemistry revealed that the expression of AQP1 in age-related cataract decreased （t=-4.508,P<0.01），the expression of AQP0 in age-related cataract also decreased （t=-3.291,P<0.01）.Western blot detection displayed the low expression of AQP1 in age-related cataract （t=-7.492,P<0.05），the low expression of AQP0 （t=-9.570,P<0.01）in age-related cataract.
Conclusions  AQP1 and AQP0 distribute in different sites in lens. AQP1 and AQP0 were both down-regulated in age-related cataract, suggesting that AQP1 and AQP0 may play an critical role in the pathogenesis of age-related cataract.