Isoelectric Focusing Studies on Immunochemical Change with Age in Chicken Lens Crystallin
Changes of alpha-, beta- and delta-crystallins of chicken lens soluble protein with age from 7-day embryos to 1.5-year-old chickens were examined by isoelectric focusing and by immunochemical studies with anti chicken total lens crystallin serum and anti chicken beta-crystallin serum. Alpha- and delta-crystallins were isofocused in a narrow pI region (alpha : pi 4.90-5.30 ; delta : pI 4.90-6.60) and this range did not become broader with age. However, the pI range of beta-crystallin gradually became broader during development. On immunochemical analysis, beta-crystallin gave two types of precipitin line, named beta 〔Ls〕 and beta 〔Ls〕. The beta 〔Ls〕 from 7-day embryos was split into two pI regions (pI 5.91-6.18 and pI 6.41-6.64), whereas that from 10-day embryos was fused into one line (pI 5.99-6.86) and a new precipitin line, beta 〔Lc〕, was detected at pI 6.65-6.86. These two types of precipitin line, beta 〔Ls〕and beta 〔Lc〕, extended to an alkaline region before hatching, and to all pI regions (pI 4.26-8.19) in chickens of 40-60 days old. However, materials of over pI 7 of both beta 〔Ls〕 and beta 〔Lc〕 had disappeared in chickens of over 1.5 years old.
