Lens regeneration from the pupillary margin of the eyecup in newt embryos

Early stages in lens regeneration from the dorsal margin of the pupil, following removal of the young lens from the embryonic eyecup, were studied with transmission electron microscopy in Notophthalmus viridescens. At the stage of operation, the eyecup cells have an undifferentiated, embryonic appearance with numerous free ribosomes and scattered mitochondria. In normal embryonic eyes containing a lens, the iris epithelium differentiates from the edge of the optic cup by growth and flattening of the cells to form a two-layered cuboidal epithelium. There is extensive melanogenesis in both inner and outer layers. In lentectomized eyes, this flattening does not occur and melanogenesis takes place mainly in the outer layer of epithelium. Mitoses are abundant and a vesicle of unpigmented columnar cells, enclosed by a basal lamina, develops from the dorsal pupillary margin of the eyecup. Macrophages are present and phagocytize some of the melanin but less than during dedifferentiation of pigmented iris epithelium. During this regeneration of a lens vesicle, there is an increase in the number of polyribosomes, granular endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria in preparation for synthesis of the lens proteins. Micropinocytosis occurs at the cells surfaces.