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Abstract
Adult New Zealand white rabbit lenses were isolated and perfused in culture chambers for periods up to 70 hours. Perfusion with tissue culture medium 199 containing 23 per cent rabbit serum for 46 or 70 hours resulted in the stimulation of many cells in the central area of the epithelial layer to undergo thymidine incorporation and mitosis. There was disorganization of some of the epithelial cells in these cultured lenses. The location of the area, of cells in which this disorganization occurred corresponded to the area in which there were thymidine incorporation and mitosis. Lenses perfused for 46 or 70 hours in tissue culture medium 199 containing 23 per cent rabbit serum dialysate tended to show thymidine incorporation in the peripheral region of the epithelial layer, but not in the central area. Disorganization of the cells was not evident in these lenses. Occasionally, small areas of probable injury (most likely sustained at the time of isolation) were present in the lenses. Each such area was surrounded by cells which had incorporated thymidine. The results are discussed in terms of the possible nature of the stimulus to cell division in this system.