Human microphthalmia associated with mutations in the retinal homeobox gene CHX10.

Isolated human microphthalmia/anophthalmia, a cause of congenital blindness, is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous developmental disorder characterized by a small eye and other ocular abnormalities. Three microphthalmia/anophthalmia loci have been identified, and two others have been inferred by the co-segregation of translocations with the phenotype. We previously found that mice with ocular retardation (the or-J allele), a microphthalmia phenotype, have a null mutation in the retinal homeobox gene Chx10 (refs 7,8).

Cell shape changes and cytoskeleton reorganization during transendothelial migration of human melanoma cells.

An in vitro system has been established to study the migration of human melanoma cells through a monolayer of endothelial cells. Endothelial cells were cultured to confluence on Matrigel before the seeding of melanoma cells. Laser scanning confocal microscopy showed that, prior to migration, melanoma cells appeared round and showed cortical F-actin staining.

Spatiotemporal distribution of SPARC/osteonectin in developing and mature chicken retina.

Expression of SPARC (Secreted Protein, Acidic, Rich in Cysteine), a counteradhesive, calcium-binding extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein, is associated with several morphogenetic events during early development. In this study, changes in the spatiotemporal distribution of SPARC transcripts and the protein during chicken retinal development were documented by in situ hybridization and indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. SPARC transcripts were first detected within the proliferating neural ectoderm at embryonic day 4.

Evidence for the migration of rat aortic endothelial cells toward the heart.

Most vascular endothelial cells at the edge of experimentally induced wounds have their centrosomes oriented toward the wound in the direction of cell migration. The finding that the centrosomes in endothelial cells of non-wounded aorta and vena cava are also oriented toward the heart suggested the hypothesis that endothelial cells are normally migrating in this direction. To test this hypothesis, endothelial cells in a segment of the rat abdominal aorta were labeled with a relatively nontoxic dye, 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI), and the position of the labeled cells was determined 3 and 6 weeks later.

Role of cadherins in the transendothelial migration of melanoma cells in culture.

Transmigration of cancer cells through the vascular endothelium (diapedesis) is a key event in tumor metastasis. To investigate mechanisms involved in diapedesis, we used laser scanning confocal microscopy to examine the distribution of cadherins of WM239 melanoma cells as they migrated through a monolayer of activated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EC) cultured on matrigel. Cadherins, including VE-cadherin, but not N-cadherin, were enriched in contacts between EC, whereas N-cadherin, but not VE-cadherin, was found in contacts between melanoma cells.