title: Induction and maintenance of differentiation of rat lens epithelium by FGF-2, insulin and IGF-1.
abstract: The differentiation of rat lens epithelial cells to fibre cells can be mimicked using lens epithelial explants, which differentiate in vitro when exposed to fibroblast growth factor (FGF). A previous study demonstrated that FGF is required only for initiation of differentiation: once induced by FGF, differentiation can be maintained by insulin (as assessed by following the accumulation of fibre-cell specific crystallins). The aim of this investigation was to determine whether insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) can also maintain differentiation and to include a cellular analysis of explants undergoing insulin-or IGF-maintained differentiation in vitro. Measurement of the accumulation of alpha-, beta- and gamma-crystallins showed that IGF-1, like insulin, can replace FGF-2 in directing the pulses of alpha-, beta- and gamma-crystallin gene expression once differentiation is initiated by FGF-2. Cells in both the peripheral and the central region of the explants responded. Immunolocalization of alpha, beta- and gamma-crystallins in these explants showed that a 15 min pulse of FGF-2 triggered the differentiation of only a few cells, whereas a 12 hr pulse primed virtually all the cells for differentiation. This indicates that in explants, individual cells differ in the rate at which they can respond to FGF-2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Institute for Biomedical Research (F13), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: E j
authors.initials: Ej
authors.lastname: Klok
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Lubsen
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Chamberlain
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: McAvoy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D003459:Crystallins / Q000378:metabolism; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003459:Crystallins; D007328:Insulin; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I