Work

Loss of ephrin-A5 function disrupts lens fiber cell packing and leads to cataract

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: Cell-cell interactions organize lens fiber cells into highly ordered structures to maintain transparency. However, signals regulating such interactions have not been well characterized. We report here that ephrin-A5, a ligand of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinases, plays a key role in lens fiber cell shape and cell-cell interactions. Lens fiber cells in mice lacking ephrin-A5 function appear rounded and irregular in cross-section, in contrast to their normal hexagonal appearance in WT lenses. Cataracts eventually develop in 87% of ephrin-A5 KO mice. We further demonstrate that ephrin-A5 interacts with the EphA2 receptor to regulate the adherens junction complex by enhancing recruitment of beta-catenin to N-cadherin. These results indicate that the Eph receptors and their ligands are critical regulators of lens development and maintenance.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0808987105

Authors: Margaret A. Cooper, Alexander I. Son, Daniel Komlos, Yuhai Sun, Norman J. Kleiman, Renping Zhou

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Columbia University

Language: English

Topic: Axon Guidance and Neuronal Signaling

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development