The cells of the dorsal iris involved in lens regeneration are myoepithelial cells whose cytoskeleton changes during cell type conversion.

During newt lens regeneration, the pigmented epithelial cells (PECs) of the dorsal iris dedifferentiate and give rise to a new lens. We have studied the cytoskeleton of the PECs using iris flat mounts and sections. In flat-mount iris preparations stained by labelled phalloidin three main regions can be recognized: the pupillary (P) ring, the middle (M) ring, and the more external junctional (J) ring. The cells of the P ring that give rise to the lens have an elongated spindle shape and exhibit an elaborate cytoskeleton of actin filament bundles oriented along the long axis of the cells, reminiscent of myoepithelial or smooth muscle cells. These cells express smooth muscle-specific alpha actin, muscle gamma actin and cytokeratin II, and adhere to each other through the cell adhesion molecule A-CAM. During dedifferentiation, actin staining increases considerably as the actin filament bundles thicken and shorten and then accumulate preferentially in the apical and basel regions of the elongating lens fibres. Cytokeratin II, which is also organized as fibrils along the long axis of the normal iris PECs, increases progressively during dedifferentiation, when it is organized as a thick band surrounding the nucleus. The expression of this protein is repressed during lens fibre differentiation, but is retained in mitotic cells. The data suggest that during cell type conversion some cytoskeletal proteins increase and reorganize, while others disappear during lens fibre differentiation.