Figure 4. Intracellular localization of α-crystallins

High resolution confocal microscopy of lens epithelial and cortical fiber cells from an intact lens incubated with fluorescently labeled α-crystallins. After 290 min of incubation, the lens was fixed with paraformaldehyde, then vibratome sectioned and visualized by confocal microscopy. A: A representative image of Texas red labeled α-crystallins localized in epithelial cells, with fluorescence in the cytosol (arrows), and very little if any fluorescence in the nucleus (arrowheads). B: A representative image of anterior cortical fiber cells cut in cross-section showing fluorescence (arrows) within the cytoplasm. C: The DIC image corresponding to B of anterior cortical fiber cells cut in cross-section. Arrows in both fields represent the same cells.