RNA-binding proteins and post-transcriptional regulation in lens biology and cataract: Mediating spatiotemporal expression of key factors that control the cell cycle, transcription, cytoskeleton and transparency.

ABSTRACT: Development of the ocular lens - a transparent tissue capable of sustaining frequent shape changes for optimal focusing power - pushes the boundaries of what cells can achieve using the molecular toolkit encoded by their genomes. The mammalian lens contains broadly two types of cells, the anteriorly located monolayer of epithelial cells which, at the equatorial region of the lens, initiate differentiation into fiber cells that contribute to the bulk of the tissue. This differentiation program involves massive upregulation of select fiber cell-expressed RNAs and their subsequent translation into high amounts of proteins, such as crystallins. But intriguingly, fiber cells achieve this while also simultaneously undergoing significant morphological changes such as elongation - involving about

SUBMITTER: Lachke SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8792301 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature