Arvcf Dependent Adherens Junction Stability is Required to Prevent Age-Related Cortical Cataracts.

ABSTRACT: The etiology of age-related cortical cataracts is not well understood but is speculated to be related to alterations in cell adhesion and/or the changing mechanical stresses occurring in the lens with time. The role of cell adhesion in maintaining lens transparency with age is difficult to assess because of the developmental and physiological roles that well-characterized adhesion proteins have in the lens. This report demonstrates that Arvcf, a member of the p120-catenin subfamily of catenins that bind to the juxtamembrane domain of cadherins, is an essential fiber cell protein that preserves lens transparency with age in mice. No major developmental defects are observed in the absence of Arvcf, however, cortical cataracts emerge in all animals examined older than 6-months of age.

SUBMITTER: Martin JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9297370 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature