Autoradiographic studies on the growth and development of the lens capsule in the rat

¹ Department of Anatomy, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine Los Angeles, Calif.

Growth of the rat lens capsule was analyzed by autoradiography, following injection of ³⁵S-sulfate or ³H-glycine. Although growth was most rapid in young animals, it continued well into adulthood, accompanied by the development of increasing regional variations in thickness. Capsular labeling with both precursors paralleled these dimensional changes, being highest in young animals and greater in regions which thickened most rapidly, with one exception: ³⁵S-sulfate was heavily incorporated into the capsule at the site of attachment of the suspensory ligament, which was not a site of preferential thickening. A strong staining reaction for acid mucopolysaccharides was obtained in this zone, suggesting that the localized concentration of ³⁵S may reflect a regional difference in composition of the capsule. The labeled precursors were initially incorporated by the superficial cells of the lens, and subsequently transferred to the capsule, indicating that the capsule was a product of the subjacent cells. Thickening of the capsule gradually displaced the radioactivity outward, away from the cells, due to the deposition of new capstdar material on the inner surface. This lamellar mode of apposition may be related to the lamellated fine structure of the capside

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