Knockdown of CXCL14 disrupts neurovascular patterning during ocular development.

ABSTRACT: The C-X-C motif ligand 14 (CXCL14) is a recently discovered chemokine that is highly conserved in vertebrates and expressed in various embryonic and adult tissues. CXCL14 signaling has been implicated to function as an antiangiogenic and anticancer agent in adults. However, its function during development is unknown. We previously identified novel expression of CXCL14 mRNA in various ocular tissues during development. Here, we show that CXCL14 protein is expressed in the anterior eye at a critical time during neurovascular development and in the retina during neurogenesis. We report that RCAS-mediated knockdown of CXCL14 causes severe neural defects in the eye including precocious and excessive innervation of the cornea and iris. Absence of CXCL14 results in the malformation of the neural

SUBMITTER: Ojeda AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5334790 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature