Bves Function in Corneal Development and Regeneration

描述（申请人提供）：细胞粘附和运动在发育和成人角膜以及角膜再生中起着至关重要的作用。在所有这些过程中，细胞粘附分子调节上皮细胞的生长、运动和稳定性。我们发现了一种新的细胞粘附分子（Bves），它在发育和成人眼睛的特定细胞群中表达，包括角膜上皮。重要的是，我们的初步数据表明：1)Bves是上皮细胞发育和再生过程中第一个与细胞/细胞接触的粘附分子之一；2)Bves功能的破坏会抑制上皮的形成和生长。这些新出现的数据导致我们的中心假设Bves在角膜上皮的生长，维持和再生中起重要作用。为了验证这一假设，我们提出以下具体目标：1。确定Bves在角膜发育过程中的精确时空表达模式；2. 确定Bves在角膜发育过程中的功能；3. 目的：确定Bves在完全发育的角膜上皮中的功能。人类角膜损伤的体外模型将用于确定Bves在修复中的细胞功能。当细胞在发育过程中运动时，

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cell adhesion and movement play critical roles in the developing and adult cornea as well as in corneal regeneration. In all these processes, cell adhesion molecules regulate epithelial growth, movement, and stability. We have discovered a new cell adhesion molecule (Bves) that is expressed in specific cell populations of the developing and adult eye, including the corneal epithelium. Importantly, our preliminary data show: 1) Bves is one of the first adhesion molecules that traffics to points of cell/cell contact in developing and regenerating epithelia and 2) that disruption of Byes function inhibits epithelial formation and outgrowth. These emerging data lead to our central hypothesis that Bves plays an important role in the growth, maintenance and regeneration of corneal epithelium. To test this hypothesis, we propose the following specific aims: 1. To determine the precise temporal and spatial expression patterns of Bves during corneal development; 2. To determine the function of Bves during corneal development and; 3. To determine the function of Bves in the fully developed corneal epithelium. In vitro models of human corneal wounding will be used to determine cellular function of Bves in repair. While cell movement during development, renewal and regeneration is critical to corneal function, the underlying molecular mechanisms governing these processes are not known. As Bves is a regulator of cell adhesion and epithelial morphogenesis, elucidating its role in corneal development and homeostasis is an important step in understanding corneal biology. Our proposed studies will determine the role of Bves in the cornea and, in a larger sense, the cellular and molecular regulation of morphogenesis and wound healing in the eye.