N AND R CADHERINS IN THE DEVELOPING TELEOST RETINA

发育生物学家长期以来一直试图确定 脊椎动物视网膜发育的基础。其中最 要问的基本问题是，什么因素决定了 或影响祖细胞的命运(例如，什么决定了 细胞是否变成圆锥体而不是杆状)。钙粘附素，此外 对许多类型的细胞之间的黏附负责，也可能 在细胞分化、轴突寻路和突触中发挥关键作用 队形。我们的初步结果表明，N-和R-钙粘附素 位于硬骨视网膜中，此时视网膜细胞 增殖和分化，当视网膜神经节细胞轴突 正在从视网膜向大脑中的主要目标迁移， 视顶盖。拟议的研究将首先研究 这两种钙粘附素在视觉系统中的发育概况 寻找这些分子的分布和它们之间的关联 该系统的主要形态发生事件。功能分析使用 要么是器官培养系统中的钙粘素抗体，要么是注射 将使用反义核苷酸来阻断钙粘附素mrna来评估 钙粘附素分子在硬骨发育中的作用(S) 视觉结构。

Developmental biologists have long been trying to determine mechanisms underlying the development of vertebrate retina. One of the most fundamental questions to be asked is what are the factors determining or influencing the fate of progenitor cells (e.g. what determines whether the cells become cones instead of rods). Cadherins, in addition to being responsible for adhesion between many types of cells, may also play key roles in cell differentiation, axon pathfinding and synapse formation. Our preliminary results show that both N- and R-cadherins are located in the teleost retina at a time when retinal cells are proliferating and differentiating, and when retinal ganglion cell axons are migrating out of the retina toward their major target in the brain, the optic tectum. The proposed study will first examine the developmental profiles of these two cadherins in the visual system to look for correlations between the distribution of these molecules and the major morphogenetic events of the system. Functional analysis using either cadherin antibodies in an organ culture system or injection of antisense nucleotides to block cadherin mRNA will be employed to assess the role(s) of these cadherin molecules in the development of teleost visual structures.