Macromolecular organization of bovine lens capsule

Rabbit antisera to type IV collagen, laminin, entactin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan and fibronectin were used to localize these proteins in cross-sections of bovine anterior lens capsule. The antisera were exposed to (a) 10-micron frozen-thawed sections of formaldehyde-fixed tissue for examination in the light microscope by the indirect immunofluorescence method and (b) formaldehyde-fixed and L. R. White plastic-embedded thin sections for electron microscopic examination by the protein A-gold technique. The intensity of immunofluorescence was both uniform and strong throughout for type IV collagen, laminin and entactin, but patchy and weak for fibronectin. Electron microscopic immunolabeling with protein A-gold showed that all five components were distributed throughout the full thickness of the membrane, albeit the density of gold particles was not identical for all basement membrane proteins. In general, the number of particles per micron2 was greatest for type IV collagen and entactin, moderate for laminin and heparan sulfate proteoglycan and low for fibronectin. The ultrastructure of the lens capsule as examined by the electron microscope revealed a relatively uniform parallel alignment of filaments, thought to be collagenous. Since the distribution of the filaments corresponds well with the observed immunocytochemical pattern it is concluded that type IV collagen, laminin, entactin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan and fibronectin co-localize throughout the cross-section of the anterior lens capsule.