Abstract
Purpose :
Ocular drainage system is essential for tear flow and eye sanitation. Our study aims to illustrate the role of Wnt/PCP signaling in tear duct development.
Methods :
In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry were conducted to examine expression of Wnt/PCP components during tear duct initiation and elongation. H&E histology was used to examine tear duct anatomy. Genetically engineered Prickle mutant mice were used for functional analysis of PCP signaling.
Results :
All 19 Wnt genes and PCP core components including Frizzled, Prickle, Celsr, Vangl, Dishevelled and Inversin genes were examined. A subset of Wnt/PCP components were expressed in developmental tear duct, suggesting a requirement of Wnt/PCP signaling for tear drainage system development. Particularly, Prickle 1 is largely restricted to the nasolacrimal duct and canaliculi. We further demonstrated that PCP signaling is essential for development of tear drainage system using Prickle 1 mutant mouse model.
Conclusions :
We concluded that Wnt/PCP signaling plays an essential role in tear drainage system develpoment. Ongoing analysis is elucidating molecular mechanisms of Wnt/PCP signaling-driven tear duct development.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.