title: FGF suppresses apoptosis and induces differentiation of fibre cells in the mouse lens.
abstract: To determine whether fibroblast growth factor (FGF) has a role in lens development, we have generated transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative form of the murine FGF receptor-1 (FGFRDN) in the lens. Using the fibre cell-specific alpha A-crystallin promoter to express the FGFRDN, we have asked whether FGF is required for fibre cell differentiation. The transgenic mice display diminished differentiation of fibre cells as indicated by their reduced elongation. In addition, transgenic lenses have an unusual refractile anomaly that morphological and biochemical data show results from the apoptosis of fibre cells in the central region of the lens. These results show that lens fibre cells are dependent on FGF for their survival and differentiation, and demonstrate that growth factor deprivation in vivo can lead to apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Roux
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roghani
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Rifkin
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moscatelli
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000196:embryology* / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010641:Phenotype; D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor / Q000502:physiology; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000473:pathology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D017468:Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors