Compound developmental eye disorders following inactivation of TGFbeta signaling in neural-crest stem cells.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Development of the eye depends partly on the periocular mesenchyme derived from the neural crest (NC), but the fate of NC cells in mammalian eye development and the signals coordinating the formation of ocular structures are poorly understood.

Results

Here we reveal distinct NC contributions to both anterior and posterior mesenchymal eye structures and show that TGFbeta signaling in these cells is crucial for normal eye development. In the anterior eye, TGFbeta2 released from the lens is required for the expression of transcription factors Pitx2 and Foxc1 in the NC-derived cornea and in the chamber-angle structures of the eye that control intraocular pressure. TGFbeta enhances Foxc1 and induces Pitx2 expression in cell cultures. As in patients carrying mutations i

SUBMITTER: Ittner LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1414066 | biostudies-literature | 2005

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature