Department of Medicine, Indiana University Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Dev Dyn. 2012 Mar;241(3):442-54. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.23729. Epub 2012 Jan 13.
Cadherins orchestrate tissue morphogenesis by controlling cell adhesion, migration and differentiation. Various cadherin family members are expressed in the retina and other neural tissues during embryogenesis, regulating development of these tissues. Cadherin-11 (Cdh11) is expressed in mesenchymal, bone, epithelial, neural and other tissues, and this cadherin was shown to control cell migration and differentiation in neural crest, tumor and bone cells. Our previous studies characterized Cdh11 expression and function in zebrafish.
Here, we report effects of Cdh11 loss-of-function on visual system development using morpholino oligonucleotide knockdown methods. Cdh11 is expressed in the retina and lens during retinal differentiation. Cdh11 loss-of-function produced defects in retinal differentiation and lens development. Cdh11 loss-of-function also reduced retinotectal axon projection and organization, consistent with known Cdh11 function in cell migration.
Cdh11 expression in the developing visual system and Cdh11 loss-of-function phenotype illustrates the critical role for differential cadherin activity in visual system differentiation and organization.
钙黏蛋白通过控制细胞黏附、迁移和分化来协调组织形态发生。在胚胎发生过程中，各种钙黏蛋白家族成员在视网膜和其他神经组织中表达，调节这些组织的发育。钙黏蛋白 11（Cdh11）在间质、骨骼、上皮、神经和其他组织中表达，该钙黏蛋白被证明可以控制神经嵴、肿瘤和骨细胞中的细胞迁移和分化。我们之前的研究在斑马鱼中对 Cdh11 的表达和功能进行了表征。
在这里，我们使用反义寡核苷酸敲低方法报告了 Cdh11 功能丧失对视觉系统发育的影响。在视网膜分化过程中，Cdh11 在视网膜和晶状体中表达。Cdh11 功能丧失导致视网膜分化和晶状体发育缺陷。Cdh11 功能丧失也减少了视网膜向顶盖的轴突投射和组织，这与 Cdh11 在细胞迁移中的已知功能一致。
发育中视觉系统的 Cdh11 表达和 Cdh11 功能丧失表型说明了差异钙黏蛋白活性在视觉系统分化和组织中的关键作用。
