Immunohistochemical and Chemical Changes of β-Citryl-L-glutamate in the Differentiation of Bovine Lens Epithelial Cells into Lens Fiber Cells

β-Citrl-L-glutamate (β-CG) concentration was determined by HPLC during the differentiation of bovine lens epithelial cells into lens fiber cells in culture. β-CG increased from 1 to 4 weeks of culture and then decreased slightly, while α-crystallin, a marker of lens cell differentiation, increased rapidly 4 weeks after the culture and continued to increase gradually until week 11. In addition, the localization of β-CG was immunohistochemically examined using anti-β-CG antibody. Cells around lentoid bodies were stained with anti-β-CG antibody, whereas cells in the bodies were strained strongly with anti-γ-crystallin antibody. These findings suggest that β-CG accumulated immediately before the differentiation of the bovine lens epithelial cells into lens fiber cells and may play a role in regulating the differentiation of lens cells.