Abstract
Purpose :
Accessory ocular tissues including the lacrimal apparatus, extraocular muscles, eyelids, eyelashes and conjunctiva are collectively called ocular adnexa. Malformation of such structures would lead to congenital vision dysfunction or loss. The main purpose of this study is to characterize the crosstalking points between ocular adnexa and its adjacent tissues, cornea and lens during normal development and pathogenic processes.
Methods :
Genetically engineered knockout mouse lacking a Wnt signaling component, Prikle 1 was used for histology examination. The development of eyelid, cornea, conjunctiva and lens was studied at different ages from the embryo to the adulthood. Scanning EM was used for detection of morphological changes of the eyelid surface. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry were used for monitoring molecular changes of each ocular tissue.
Results :
We found that eyelid development underwent severe disruption in the Prickle 1 mutant mice in that the closure process is much late compared to the normal, whereas the opening became earlier. Massive cell proliferation was detected in tarsal and bulbar conjunctiva and atop the cornea. Accordingly, differentiation of several cell types was hampered in the mutant adnexa tissues. In some cases, we also found significantly increased infiltration of inflammatory cells in between the cornea and conjunctiva, and that several altered signaling pathways could count for the developmental anomalies.
Conclusions :
The results indicated that 1) Wnt signaling is an important platform on which ocular tissues and its adnexa communicate and interact; 2) Crosstalk between signaling pathways drives multi-aspects of ocular development; 3) Tissue interactions directed by Prickle-mediated Wnt pathway are crucial for environment-stimulated pathogenesis.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.