Figure 6.

Subcellular localization of lens AQP0 and AQP5 in the influx zone of rat lenses—results from the posterior pole. (A) Image montage of the posterior water influx zone taken from an axial section of a rat lens that was labeled with the membrane marker WGA (red) to highlight suture line (arrowheads). Boxes indicate the areas (IP1, IP2, and IP3) from which the higher-resolution images shown in B–D were taken to investigate the subcellular distribution of AQP0 and AQP5 (green). (B) In lenses with cut zonules, AQP0 labeling was membranous and strongly labeled the suture in regions IP1 and IP2, but no labeling was observed from region IP3 in the lens core where AQP0 the C-terminus of the AQP0 protein is cleaved. (C) In lenses with zonules cut, AQP5 labeling was missing from the suture in regions IP1 and IP2, but labeling was present in the deeper IP3 region. (D) Fixing lenses in situ with their zonules attached had no effect on AQP0 (data not shown) or AQP5 labeling in the posterior influx zone.