Ontogeny of chick lens β crystallin polypeptides by immunofluorescence

An anodal β crystallin fraction and a cathodal β crystallin fraction of adult chicken lens were injected into rabbits for the production of antisera. Immunochemical analysis showed the anodal antiserum was directed against a single species of β crystallin polypeptide (mol. wt. 37,000 daltons) and the cathodal antiserum was directed against two species of β crystallin polypeptides (mol. wt. 25,000 and 27,000 daltons). Using the indirect immunofluorescent technique, anodal β crystallin was first detected in the lens fibers at 5 days of incubation and in the epithelial cells at 16 days of incubation. A reaction for cathodal β crystallin was first found in the posterior wall of the lens vesicle at 3 days of incubation and the fluorescence had spread throughout the epithelium at 5 days of incubation. With increasing age, there was a decrease in fluorescence in the central fiber cells with both antisera.