CADHERIN MEDIATED PHOTORECEPTOR DIFFERENTIATION

该项目的长期目标是确定 细胞相互作用在调节神经元承诺和 硬骨神经发育和再生过程中的分化 视网膜，特别强调光感受器。这次会议的重点是 研究计划是关于特殊的细胞-细胞连接和钙- 依赖的黏附分子，钙粘附素，作为诱导性的介体 发出信号的事件。斑马鱼N-钙粘附素融合蛋白的制备 CDNA将被用于产生能够阻断的多克隆抗体 钙粘附素介导的细胞间黏附。假设是这样的 钙粘附素/粘附素连接在调节神经营养因子选择中的作用 光感受器命运。钙粘附素特异性封闭抗体，融合 蛋白质、N-末端片段或合成肽被应用于 器官培养中的全胚胎眼和光感受器的产生 用杆状和锥状细胞特异的单抗进行监测 用同型特异性视杆和视锥进行原位杂交 核探针。因为钙粘附素功能异常牵涉到 细胞转化和化生，更好地理解 钙粘附素在调节正常细胞表型中的作用引起了人们的兴趣。

The long range objectives of this project are to determine the role of cellular interactions in regulating neuronal commitment and differentiation during development and regeneration of the teleost neural retina, with special emphasis on photoreceptors. The focus of the research plan is on specialized cell-cell junctions and the calcium- dependent adhesion molecules, cadherins, as mediators of inductive signalling events. Fusion proteins produced from zebrafish N-cadherin cDNA will be used to generate polyclonal antibodies capable of blocking cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. The hypothesis is that cadherins/adherens junctions play a role in mediating choice of photoreceptor fate. Cadherin-specific blocking antibodies, fusion proteins, N-terminal fragments, or synthetic peptides, are applied to whole embryonic eyes in organ culture, and production of photoreceptors is monitored with rod-specific and cone-specific monoclonal antibodies and with in situ hybridization using isotype-specific rod and cone opsin riboprobes. Since abnormal cadherin function has been implicated in cellular transformation and metaplasia, a better understanding of the role of cadherins in regulating normal cell phenotype is of interest.