GENE REGULATION IN LENS REGENERATION

成年期的透镜再生是一种独特的现象， 一些有尾目动物。一旦透镜被移除，新的透镜被再生 从虹膜背侧色素上皮转分化而来， 细胞到透镜细胞。这一事件只发生在背侧， 腹侧虹膜然而，正如培养眼细胞所显示的那样， 色素上皮、透镜上皮或视网膜从一个 各种物种，包括老年人，转分化为透镜， vitro保留。此外，腹侧虹膜色素上皮是 也能够在体外分化。由于细胞的培养 涉及细胞的解离和粘附， 在这些过程中，应该是一个重要的因素。只有那些 背侧虹膜在活体内再生为透镜也暗示了强烈的空间性 调控含有同源盒和pax的基因，已知编码 参与模式形成、分化和 轴规格这些特性使这些基因成为 控制以时空方式调节的事件，透镜 再生就是其中之一。此外，含有pax的基因具有 与无虹膜眼病有关我们打算克隆这些 眼睛组织中的基因进行再生， 在体内和体外细胞分化为 透镜。我们打算通过聚合酶链反应克隆这些序列， 反应（PCR）。将通过原位杂交研究表达， 北方分析或PCR。这些研究将提供分子工具， 研究眼睛中的基因调控，并帮助理解基本分子 透镜再生和转分化的机制 眼细胞

Lens regeneration during adulthood is a unique phenomenon restricted only to some urodeles. Once the lens is removed the new lens is regenerated from the dorsal iris pigmented epithelium by transdifferentiation of these cells to lens cells. This event takes place only from the dorsal but not from the ventral iris. However, as has been shown by culturing eye cells, the ability of pigment epithelium, lens epithelium or retina from a variety of species, including old human, to transdifferentiate to lens in vitro is retained. Furthermore, the ventral iris pigmented epithelium is also capable of differentiation in vitro. Since the culturing of cells involves cell dissociation and adhesion, regulation of molecules involved in these processes should be an important element. The ability of only the dorsal iris to regenerate to lens in vivo also implies strongly spatial regulation. Homeo box- and pax-containing genes, are known to code for regulatory molecules involved in pattern formation, differentiation and axes specification. These properties make these genes good candidates for controlling events that are regulated in a spatio-temporal manner, lens regeneration being one of them. In addition, a pax-containing gene has been implicated in the eye disease aniridia. We propose to clone these genes from the eye tissues that undergo regeneration and examine their expression during the in vivo and in vitro differentiation of cells into lens. We intend to clone these sequences by means of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The expression will be studied by in situ hybridization, Northern analysis or PCR. Such studies will provide molecular tools to study gene regulation in the eye and help fathom the basic molecular mechanisms underlying lens regeneration and transdifferentiation of the eye cells.