The matrix of the optic vesicle-presumptive lens interface during induction of the lens in the chicken embryo.

The cell coats of the presumptive lens cells and the extracellular interface between the lens rudiment and optic vesicle were investigated in the chicken embryo throughout the period during which lens induction is presumed to take place. Histochemical methods showed that the cell coats contained both glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans. Autoradiography after [3H]glucosamine injection indicated incorporation of the precursor with subsequent localization primarily at the cell surface. No obvious changes in the properties of the coat were noted with the progression of early lens morphogenesis. The extracellular matrix at the interface between ectoderm and optic vesicle also contained glycoprotein and glycosaminoglycan. There was a heavy concentration of [3H]glucosamine-containing macromolecules in the area. Electron microscopy revealed that the interface consisted of the basement membrane systems of lens and optic vesicle, fused with their external fibrillar layers. In contrast to the findings on cell coats the density of the interfacial matrix increases appreciably during the lens induction period. Evidence suggests that the cells of the two ocular epithelia are themselves the source of the matrix materials. It is proposed that the macromolecules excreted by the epithelial cells into the interface interact at different concentrations to form aggregates of various structure by a process of self-assembly. This may be reflected in the different ultrastructure of the layers of the interfacial matrix. Quantitative changes in the density of the matrix, leading to increased adhesion between lens rudiment and optic vesicle, may restrict the lateral spreading of the lens cells and so fix the basal area of the lens rudiment. This, together with continued cell replication, may produce the cell crowding, placode formation and invagination characteristic of lens morphogenesis.