Changes in Lens Crystalling during Cataract Development in the Philly Mouse

Laurell ‘rocket’ immunoelectrophoresis has been applied to the quantitation of lens crystallins during development of hereditary cataract in the Philly mouse. A marked decrease in γ crystallin and smaller loss of β crystallin was found to accompany catarac-togenesis. Both β and γ crystallins were identified in the aqueous humor of the Philly mouse following cataract development. The Philly mouse lens was shown to lack one β crystallin antigen seen in the normal mouse by the rocket technique. This observation was correlated with altered composition of β crystallin polypeptides and oligomers. The rocket method was also applied to quantitation of human α, β, and γ crystallin.