Chromatin Remodeling Enzyme Snf2h Is Essential for Retinal Cell Proliferation and Photoreceptor Maintenance.

Chromatin remodeling complexes are required for many distinct nuclear processes such as transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair. However, the contribution of these complexes to the development of complex tissues within an organism is poorly characterized. Imitation switch (ISWI) proteins are among the most evolutionarily conserved ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factors and are represented by yeast Isw1/Isw2, and their vertebrate counterparts Snf2h (Smarca5) and Snf2l (Smarca1).

Chromatin remodeling enzyme Snf2h is essential for retinal cell proliferation and photoreceptor maintenance.

Chromatin remodeling complexes are required for many distinct nuclear processes such as transcription, DNA replication and DNA repair. However, how these complexes contribute to the development of complex tissues within an organism is poorly characterized. Imitation switch (ISWI) proteins are among the most evolutionarily conserved ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factors and are represented by yeast Isw1/Isw2, and their vertebrate counterparts Snf2h (Smarca5) and Snf2l (Smarca1).

Multiple roles of Pax6 in postnatal cornea development.

Mammalian corneal development is a multistep process, including formation of the corneal epithelium (CE), endothelium and stroma during embryogenesis, followed by postnatal stratification of the epithelial layers and continuous renewal of the epithelium to replace the outermost corneal cells. Here, we employed the Cre-loxP system to conditionally deplete Pax6 proteins in two domains of ocular cells, i.e.

Meis homeobox genes control progenitor competence in the retina.

The vertebrate eye is derived from the neuroepithelium, surface ectoderm, and extracellular mesenchyme. The neuroepithelium forms an optic cup in which the spatial separation of three domains is established, namely, the region of multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs), the ciliary margin zone (CMZ)-which possesses both a neurogenic and nonneurogenic potential-and the optic disk (OD), the interface between the optic stalk and the neuroretina. Here, we show by genetic ablation in the developing optic cup that and homeobox genes function redundantly to maintain the retinal progenitor pool while they simultaneously suppress the expression of genes characteristic of CMZ and OD fates.

Generation and characterization of Aldh3-Cre transgenic mice as a tool for conditional gene deletion in postnatal cornea.

Conditional gene targeting in mice by means of Cre-loxP strategy represents a powerful approach to study mammalian gene function. This approach is however dependent on the availability of suitable strains of mice with a tissue or time restricted activity of the Cre recombinase. Here we describe Aldh3-Cre transgenic mice as a useful tool to conditionally delete genes in cornea, a specialized transparent tissue found on the anterior-most part of the eye, which acts as a protective barrier and contributes to the refractive power.