The basal AREG mRNA levels in no-UVB cultures were 1.0 (A), 2.0 (B), 4.1 (C), 2.5 (D), and 11.9 (E), when the mRNA levels were related to the value of culture A. The basal GDF15 mRNA levels in no-UVB cultures were 1.0 (A), 2.7 (B), 2.1 (C), 4.1 (D), and 5.7 (E), when the mRNA levels were related to the value of culture A. Since the number of the examined samples was small, we could not find any relationship between cataract type/severity of lens opacities and either the basal levels or the extent of UVB-induced upregulation of AREG and GDF15 mRNAs. This evidence concerns the gene AREG and cataract.