Work

Fibromodulin regulates collagen fibrillogenesis during peripheral corneal development

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Fibromodulin regulates collagen fibrillogenesis, but its existence/role(s) in the cornea is controversial. We hypothesize that fibromodulin regulates fibrillogenesis during postnatal development of the anterior eye. Fibromodulin is weakly expressed in the limbus at post-natal day (P) 4, increases and extends into the central cornea at P14, becomes restricted to the limbus at P30, and decreases at P60. This differential spatial and temporal expression of fibromodulin is coordinated with emmetropization; the developmental increase in axial length and globe size. Genetic analysis demonstrated that fibromodulin regulates fibrillogenesis in a region-specific manner. At the limbus, fibromodulin is dominant in regulating fibril growth during postnatal development. In the posterior peripheral cornea, cooperative interactions of fibromodulin and lumican regulate fibrillogenesis. These data indicate that fibromodulin plays important roles in the regulation of region-specific fibrillogenesis required for the integration of the corneal and scleral matrices and sulcus development required for establishment of the visual axis.

Source: Developmental Dynamics

DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.22216

Authors: Shoujun Chen, Ake Oldberg, Shukti Chakravarti, David E. Birk

Institutions: University of South Florida, Lund University, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Language: English

Topic: Corneal Surgery and Treatments

Subfield: Ophthalmology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Eye Institute

Awards: G1443198444, Collagen Fibrillogenesis and Corneal Development, Role of Lumican in eye development and functions of the cornea, The Role of Lumican in the cornea