Brownell I, Dirksen M, Jamrich M
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Genesis. 2000 Jun;27(2):81-93. doi: 10.1002/1526-968x(200006)27:2<81::aid-gene50>3.0.co;2-n.
Here we report the isolation of a novel forkhead gene, Foxe3, that plays an important role in lens formation. During development Foxe3 is expressed in all undifferentiated lens tissues, and is turned off upon fiber cell differentiation. Foxe3 maps to a chromosomal region containing the dysgenetic lens (dyl) mutation. Mice homozygous for dyl display several defects in lens development. dyl mice also show altered patterns of crystallin expression suggesting a dysregulation of lens differentiation. We have identified mutations in Foxe3 that cosegregate with the dyl phenotype and are a likely cause of the mutant phenotype. Head ectoderm expression of Foxe3 is absent in Rx-/- and Small eye embryos indicating that Rx and Pax6 activity are necessary for Foxe3 expression.
在此，我们报告了一种新型叉头基因Foxe3的分离，该基因在晶状体形成中起重要作用。在发育过程中，Foxe3在所有未分化的晶状体组织中表达，并在纤维细胞分化时关闭。Foxe3定位于一个包含晶状体发育不全（dyl）突变的染色体区域。dyl纯合子小鼠在晶状体发育中表现出多种缺陷。dyl小鼠还显示出晶状体蛋白表达模式的改变，提示晶状体分化失调。我们已经鉴定出与dyl表型共分离的Foxe3突变，这些突变可能是突变表型的原因。在Rx-/-和小眼胚胎中，Foxe3在头部外胚层中不表达，这表明Rx和Pax6的活性对于Foxe3的表达是必需的。
