The roles of beta-catenin, APC and the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in lens development and cataract

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Cataract is a leading cause of blindness. Many risk factors have been identified but the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms that cause cataract are not well understood. Investigation of these mechanisms is essential to identify potential targets for future therapies to arrest or prevent cataract formation. The lens is composed of epithelial and fibre cells. Much of our research has focussed on identifying genes and cell signalling pathways that regulate formation of fibre cells from the epithelial cells. However, considerably less is known about factors that regulate formation of the epithelium itself. As the epithelial cells are affected in some types of cataract it is vitally important to understand the mechanisms that control formation and maintenance of these cells. Our previous studies have identified a growth factor family (TGF-beta) that causes epithelial cataracts. Importantly, our recent studies have identified another growth factor signalling pathway (Wnt-beta-catenin) as being essential for the formation and maintenance of the lens epithelium. We hypothesise that this pathway is disrupted dring cataract formation. This project uses state of the art tools and techniques to investigate the role of two central molecular components of this Wnt pathway (APC and beta-catenin) in the developing lens. By genetically manipulating the activity of these proteins in the mouse lens we will investigate the roles these molecules and the Wnt signalling pathway play in lens development and whether inappropriate activity results in abnormal development or cataract. We will also be able to investigate whether modulating this pathway affects the formation of epithelial cataracts by TGFbeta. The results will provide detailed information on how these molecules regulate lens structure and function and have the potential to identify targets for preventing or ameliorating cataracts.