Pax6 regulation of in the mouse retinal pigmented epithelium controls its timely differentiation and choroid vasculature development.

The synchronized differentiation of neuronal and vascular tissues is crucial for normal organ development and function, although there is limited information about the mechanisms regulating the coordinated development of these tissues. The choroid vasculature of the eye serves as the main blood supply to the metabolically active photoreceptors, and develops together with the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Here, we describe a novel regulatory relationship between the RPE transcription factors Pax6 and Sox9 that controls the timing of RPE differentiation and the adjacent choroid maturation.