Compound mouse mutants of bZIP transcription factors Mafg and Mafk reveal a regulatory network of non-crystallin genes associated with cataract.

Although majority of the genes linked to early-onset cataract exhibit lens fiber cell-enriched expression, our understanding of gene regulation in these cells is limited to function of just eight transcription factors and largely in the context of crystallins. We report on small Maf transcription factors Mafg and Mafk as regulators of several non-crystallin human cataract-associated genes in fiber cells and establish their significance to this disease. We applied a bioinformatics tool for cataract gene discovery iSyTE to identify Mafg and its co-regulators in the lens, and generated various null-allelic combinations of Mafg:Mafk mouse mutants for phenotypic and molecular analysis.

Molecular characterization of mouse lens epithelial cell lines and their suitability to study RNA granules and cataract associated genes.

The discovery of cytosolic RNA granule (RG) component proteins associated with human cataract has initiated investigations on post-transcriptional mechanisms of gene expression control in the lens. Application of established mouse lens epithelial cell lines (LECs) can provide rapid insights on RG function in lens cells, especially because mouse mutants in several RG components are not available. However, although these LECs represent potential reagents for such analyses, they are uncharacterized for lens gene expression or RG formation.

Endocrine disruption screening by protein and gene expression of vitellogenin in freshly isolated and cryopreserved rainbow trout hepatocytes.

Xenobiotics may activate the estrogen receptor, resulting in alteration of normal endocrine functions in animals and humans. Consequently, this necessitates development of assay end points capable of identifying estrogenic xenobiotics. In the present study, we screened the potential estrogenicity of chemicals via their ability to induce vitellogenin (VTG) expression in cultured primary hepatocytes from male trout.