[The stimulation of crystalline lens regeneration in adult tritons]

The lens removal from the newt eye stimulates regeneration of the latter from the dorsal iris cells. We have undertaken an attempt to stimulate lens regeneration from teh ventral iris pigmented cells by growth factors: basic and acidic forms of the fibroblast growth factor and the epidermal growth factor. In the presence of the growth factors, the mitotic activity of the ventral iris cells increased 1.5-to 3-fold on the 30th (18) and 70th (58) days after the operation (implantation). Depigmentation of the pupal margin and separation of the ventral iris sheets was observed on the 70th day in teh same animals, what was considered as stage III of lens regeneration. No such stimulation of proliferation was observed in the dorsal iris, but by the 70th day additional lenses have been found to form from the dorsal iris cells.