Abstract: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lens epithelial cells(LEC) is one of the important mechanisms of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) after cataract operation, which has attracted more and more attention of experts in recent years. Currently various signaling pathways are known to be involved in the occurrence of EMT in lens epithelial cells, such as TGF-β/Smad pathway, Jagged-1/Notch pathway, MAPK/ERK pathway, Wnt/β-catenin pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and so on. TGF-β/Smad is most important one in all the pathways. To understand the relationship between these signaling pathways and the pathogenesis of PCO can provide theoretical basis for clinical prevention of PCO. (Int Rev Ophthalmol, 2022, 46:  123-129)

Key words: lens epithelial cells, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, posterior capsular opacification