A cell polarity protein aPKCλ is required for eye lens formation and growth

Sugiyama, Yuki; Akimoto, Kazunori; Robinson, Michael L.; Ohno, Shigeo; Quinlan, Roy A.

Abstract

The organisation of individual cells into a functional three-dimensional tissue is still a major question in developmental biology. Modulation of epithelial cell shape is a critical driving force in forming tissues. This is well illustrated in the eye lens where epithelial cells elongate extensively during their differentiation into fibre cells. It is at the lens equator that epithelial cells elongate along their apical–basal axis. During this process the elongating epithelial cells and their earliest fibre cell derivatives remain anchored at their apical tips, forming a discrete region or modiolus, which we term the lens fulcrum. How this is achieved has received scant attention and is little understood. Here, we show that conditional depletion of aPKCλ, a central effector of the PAR polarity complex, disrupts the apical junctions in elongating epithelial cells so that the lens fulcrum fails to form. This results in disorganised fibre cell alignment that then causes cataract. Interestingly, aPKCλ depletion also promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition of the lens epithelial cells, reducing their proliferation, leading ultimately to a small lens and microphthalmia. These observations indicate that aPKCλ, a regulator of polarity and apical junctions, is required for development of a lens that is the correct size and shape.

Citation

Sugiyama, Y., Akimoto, K., Robinson, M. L., Ohno, S., & Quinlan, R. A. (2009). A cell polarity protein aPKCλ is required for eye lens formation and growth. Developmental Biology, 336(2), 246-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2009.10.010

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 5, 2009
• Online Publication Date: Oct 14, 2009
• Publication Date: Dec 15, 2009
• Deposit Date: Apr 23, 2012
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 20, 2017
• Journal: Developmental Biology
• Print ISSN: 0012-1606
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 336
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 246-256
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2009.10.010
• Keywords: Lens, aPKC, Polarity, Cell junction, Proliferation.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1507531