Fig. 2. Early alterations in the eyes of Hspg2Δ3/Δ3 mutant mice. (A) The eye from a newborn Hspg2Δ3/Δ3 mutant mouse is well developed, but tiny drops of lens material (hardly visible at this magnification) are leaking from the lens (arrow). PAS staining. (B) Lateral region of a newborn mutant lens with two leakage sites (one indicated with an arrow) stained with an antibody against γ crystallin. (C–F) Sections of 14-day-old wild-type (C and E) and Hspg2Δ3/Δ3 mutant (D and F) eyes immunostained for N-cadherin, which is localized in the cell membranes (red color). Nuclei are counterstained with hematoxylin. (C and D) Lateral region of the lens. The dotted line indicates the approximate border of the proliferation and differentiation zones. Gaps and irregularities in lens fiber organization are detected in the mutant lens (D). (E and F) The attachment of lens fibers to the lens capsule in the posterior region of the lens is altered in the mutant lens (F). Arrows point to irregularities in the lens fiber organization. Bar: 100 µm in (A), 50 µm in (B–F). CB, ciliary body; D, differentiation zone; L, lens; N, optic nerve; PZ, proliferation zone; R, retina.