| First Author | Wigle JT | Year | 1999 |
| Journal | Nat Genet | Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 3 | Pages | 318-22 |
| PubMed ID | 10080188 | Mgi Jnum | J:53431 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1332720 | Doi | 10.1038/6844 |
| Citation | Wigle JT, et al. (1999) Prox1 function is crucial for mouse lens-fibre elongation. Nat Genet 21(3):318-22 |
| abstractText | Although insights have emerged regarding genes controlling the early stages of eye formation, little is known about lens-fibre differentiation and elongation, The expression pattern of the Prox1 homeobox gene suggests it has a role in a variety of embryonic tissues, including lens'. To analyse the requirement far Prox1 during mammalian development, we inactivated the locus in mice, Homozygous Prox1-null mice die at mid-gestation from multiple developmental defects; here we describe the specific effect an lens development Prox1 inactivation causes abnormal cellular proliferation, downregulated expression of the cell-cycle inhibitors Cdkn Ib (also known as p27(KIP1)) and Cdkn1b (also known as p57(KIP2)), misexpression of E-cadherin and inappropriate apoptosis. Consequently, mutant lens cells fail to polarize and elongate properly, resulting in a hollow lens, Our data provide evidence that the progression of terminal fibre differentiation and elongation is dependent on Prox1 activity during lens development. |
