MAPK1 is required for establishing the pattern of cell proliferation and for cell survival during lens development.

ABSTRACT: The mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs; also known as ERKs) are key intracellular signaling molecules that are ubiquitously expressed in tissues and were assumed to be functionally equivalent. Here, we use the mouse lens as a model system to investigate whether MAPK1 plays a specific role during development. MAPK3 is known to be dispensable for lens development. We demonstrate that, although MAPK1 is uniformly expressed in the lens epithelium, its deletion significantly reduces cell proliferation in the peripheral region, an area referred to as the lens germinative zone in which most active cell division occurs during normal lens development. By contrast, cell proliferation in the central region is minimally affected by MAPK1 deletion. Cell cycle regulators, including cyclin D1 and s

SUBMITTER: Upadhya D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3596996 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature