Identification of Left-Handed RNA in the Cells of the Meridional Rows of the Normal Adult Mammalian Ocular Lens

Abstract

The purpose of this research project was to characterize the distribution of left-handed Z-RNA sequences within the epithelial cells of the adult noncataractous crystalline dog lens: the meridional rows (MR). This was achieved by using anti-Z-RNA IgG polyclonal antibody probes. Both light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopy (EM) were used to analyze the tissue binding of the anti- Z-RNA antibodies. Nucleic acids can adopt many different helical conformations (1), such as Z-DNA (Fig. 1) and Z-RNA (2,3). The lens is made up of a single cell type, which is a monolayer of undifferentiated epithelial cells covering its anterior surface (Fig. 2). At the equator of the lens, these cells elongate and form concentric layers of the secondary (nucleated) fiber cells, which undergo cell death-terminal differentiation (denucleation). The epithelial monolayer consists of several cell types, each of which has unique characteristics.The production of anti-Z-RNA polyclonal antibody probes was achieved using four