PUBLICATION

Eye development: a view from the retina pigmented epithelium

Authors
Martínez-Morales, J.R., Rodrigo, I., and Bovolenta, P.
ID
ZDB-PUB-080710-2
Date
2004
Source
BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology   26(7): 766-777 (Review)
Registered Authors
Bovolenta, Paola, Martinez-Morales, Juan R.
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution
  • Cell Differentiation
  • Humans
  • Neurons/cytology
  • Neurons/metabolism
  • Pigment Epithelium of Eye/cytology*
  • Pigment Epithelium of Eye/embryology*
  • Pigment Epithelium of Eye/metabolism
  • Retina/cytology*
  • Retina/embryology*
  • Retina/metabolism
  • Transcription Factors/metabolism
PubMed
15221858 Full text @ Bioessays
Abstract
The retina pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialised epithelium that serves as a multifunctional and indispensable component of the vertebrate eye. Although a great deal of attention has been paid to its transdifferentiation capabilities and its ancillary functions in neural retina development, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that specify the RPE itself. Recent advances in our understanding of the genetic network that controls the progressive specification of the eye anlage in vertebrates have provided some of the initial cues to the mechanisms responsible for RPE patterning. Here, we have outlined many recent findings that suggest that a limited number of transcription factors, including Otx2, Mitf and Pax6 and a few signalling cascades, are the elements required for the onset of RPE specification in vertebrates. Furthermore, using this information and the data available on the specification of the pigmented cells of primitive chordates, we have ventured some hypotheses on the origin of RPE cells during evolution.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping