> The inner lens cells form in the embryo and then lapse into such inertness for the rest of their owner's lifetime that they dispense altogether with their nucleus and other cellular organelles.<p>Does anyone know what metabolic processes these cells continue to perform, if any? If they literally drop their nucleus and other organelles, is there anything left besides the cell membrane, cytoskeleton, and cytoplasm? How do they repair damage, and in what sense are they a living cell rather than just an inert husk like the dead cells in the cuticle of hair?<p>I believe "inner lens cells" refers to the lens fibers, but this is all Wikipedia had to say:<p>> New lens fibers are generated from the equatorial cells of the lens epithelium, in a region referred to as the germinative zone. The lens epithelial cells elongate, lose contact with the capsule and epithelium, synthesize crystallin, and then finally lose their nuclei (enucleate) as they become mature lens fibers....
> Another important factor in maintaining the transparency of the lens is the absence of light-scattering organelles such as the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria within the mature lens fibers. Lens fibers also have a very extensive cytoskeleton that maintains the precise shape and packing of the lens fibers; disruptions/mutations in certain cytoskeletal elements can lead to the loss of transparency<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_(anatomy)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_(anatomy)</a>