PURPOSE: PAX6 heterozygosity (PAX6(+/-)) causes aniridia and aniridia-related keratopathy (ARK) in humans, but the pathway from gene dosage deficiency to clinical disease has not been fully characterized. Recently, the authors suggested a model of a chronic wound state exacerbated by oxidative stress, showed the barrier function of Pax6(+/-) corneas is compromised and suggested Pax6(+/-) corneas show the molecular signature of a perpetual wound-healing state. METHODS: Pax6(+/-) mice were used as a model for Pax6-related corneal diseases and in vivo wound-healing assays. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy analyses were performed on mutant and wounded corneas. RESULTS: This work reports defects in keratin, desmoplakin, and actin-based cytoskeletal structures in Pax6(+/-) cells. During wild-type corneal reepithelialization, cell fissures and desquamation, intracellular vesicles, intercellular gaps, and filopodialike structures were apparent, similar to the phenotypes seen in "unwounded" Pax6(+/-) corneal epithelia. Pax6(+/-) cells and wounded wild-type cells showed changed patterns of desmoplakin and actin localization. Protein oxidation and ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation were barely detected in the basal cells of intact wild-type corneal epithelia, but they were found in basal wild-type cells near the wound edge and throughout Pax6(+/-) corneal epithelia. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that cell junctions and cytoskeleton organization are dynamically remodeled in vivo by wounding and in Pax6(+/-) corneas. This apparent wound-healing phenotype contributes to the clinical aspects of ARK.
PURPOSE:PAX6 heterozygosity (PAX6(+/-)) causes aniridia and aniridia-related keratopathy (ARK) in humans, but the pathway from gene dosage deficiency to clinical disease has not been fully characterized. Recently, the authors suggested a model of a chronic wound state exacerbated by oxidative stress, showed the barrier function of Pax6(+/-) corneas is compromised and suggested Pax6(+/-) corneas show the molecular signature of a perpetual wound-healing state. METHODS:Pax6(+/-) mice were used as a model for Pax6-related corneal diseases and in vivo wound-healing assays. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy analyses were performed on mutant and wounded corneas. RESULTS: This work reports defects in keratin, desmoplakin, and actin-based cytoskeletal structures in Pax6(+/-) cells. During wild-type corneal reepithelialization, cell fissures and desquamation, intracellular vesicles, intercellular gaps, and filopodialike structures were apparent, similar to the phenotypes seen in "unwounded" Pax6(+/-) corneal epithelia. Pax6(+/-) cells and wounded wild-type cells showed changed patterns of desmoplakin and actin localization. Protein oxidation and ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK phosphorylation were barely detected in the basal cells of intact wild-type corneal epithelia, but they were found in basal wild-type cells near the wound edge and throughout Pax6(+/-) corneal epithelia. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that cell junctions and cytoskeleton organization are dynamically remodeled in vivo by wounding and in Pax6(+/-) corneas. This apparent wound-healing phenotype contributes to the clinical aspects of ARK.
Authors: Susan K Mathai; Brent S Pedersen; Keith Smith; Pamela Russell; Marvin I Schwarz; Kevin K Brown; Mark P Steele; James E Loyd; James D Crapo; Edwin K Silverman; Deborah Nickerson; Tasha E Fingerlin; Ivana V Yang; David A Schwartz Journal: Am J Respir Crit Care Med Date: 2016-05-15 Impact factor: 21.405
Authors: Romana Kucerova; Natalie Dorà; Richard L Mort; Karen Wallace; Lucy J Leiper; Christina Lowes; Carlos Neves; Petr Walczysko; Freyja Bruce; Paul A Fowler; Ann M Rajnicek; Colin D McCaig; Min Zhao; John D West; J Martin Collinson Journal: Mol Vis Date: 2012-01-18 Impact factor: 2.367
Authors: Richard L Mort; Adam J Bentley; Francis L Martin; J Martin Collinson; Panagiotis Douvaras; Robert E Hill; Steven D Morley; Nigel J Fullwood; John D West Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-12-29 Impact factor: 3.240