BioProject

Characteristic structural details of the cornea are transparency, the absence of blood vessels, and the presence of numerous sensory nerve endings. More...

Characteristic structural details of the cornea are transparency, the absence of blood vessels, and the presence of numerous sensory nerve endings. The corneal epithelium is one of the most densely innervated tissues of the body. The characteristics of the cornea are established during fetal development, and are lost in adult life when the cornea regenerates after injury. The common reaction of the cornea to injury is the formation of opaque scars, the ingrowth of blood vessels, and distinct changes in the innervation pattern. Scar formation of the cornea is critically modulated by the expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). To identify genes that are important for corneal transparency, dense innervation and absence of blood vessels by comparing corneas from wildtype mice with those that are under the influence of high doses of TGF-beta. Transparency, dense innervation, and absence of blood vessels in the cornea all depend on the expression of a critical set of genes that are not expressed when TGF-beta is present. Mice were generated that overexpress TGF-beta under control of a strong lens-specific promoter. These mice developed opaque corneas that are vascularized and lack sensory nerves. In addition, these corneas were densely populated with cells expressing neural cell adhesion protein. RNA was isolated from corneas of transgenic animals and wildtype littermates in order to analyze differentially expressed genes and to identify those that are only expressed in transparent, avascular, and densely innervated wildtype corneas. Keywords: TGF-beta overexpression Less...