Effect of retinal factors on the chick-embryo lens in vivo.

The effect of water-soluble retinal factors on lens differentiation in 11-day chick embryos was studies in vivo. Retinal extract accelerated cell transfer from zone to zone, promoted lens-fiber formation, and reduced total protein in the lens. Acrylamide-gel electrophoresis detected four basic protein fractions in the lens. Retinal factors caused a fraction identified as gamma-crystallin to disappear and lowered the peak of delta-crystallin. The data obtained are evidence that retinal factors participate in the regulation of cell differentiation and protein turnover in the lens.