The Transcription Factor Foxg1 Promotes Optic Fissure Closure in the Mouse by Suppressing Wnt8b in the Nasal Optic Stalk.

ABSTRACT: During vertebrate eye morphogenesis, a transient fissure forms at its inferior part, known as the optic fissure. This will gradually close, giving rise to a healthy, spherical optic cup. Failure of the optic fissure to close gives rise to an ocular disorder known as coloboma. During this developmental process, Foxg1 is expressed in the optic neuroepithelium, with highest levels of expression in the nasal optic stalk. Foxg1^-/- mutant mice have microphthalmic eyes with a large ventral coloboma. We found Wnt8b expression upregulated in the Foxg1^-/- optic stalk and hypothesized that, similar to what is observed in telencephalic development, Foxg1 directs development of the optic neuroepithelium through transcriptional suppression of Wnt8b

SUBMITTER: Smith R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5559767 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature