title: Dkk2 plays an essential role in the corneal fate of the ocular surface epithelium.
abstract: The Dkk family of secreted cysteine-rich proteins regulates Wnt/beta-catenin signaling by interacting with the Wnt co-receptor Lrp5/6. Here, we show that Dkk2-mediated repression of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is essential to promote differentiation of the corneal epithelial progenitor cells into a non-keratinizing stratified epithelium. Complete transformation of the corneal epithelium into a stratified epithelium that expresses epidermal-specific differentiation markers and develops appendages such as hair follicles is achieved in the absence of the Dkk2 gene function. We show that Dkk2 is a key regulator of the corneal versus epidermal fate of the ocular surface epithelium.
authors: Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors: Mahua
authors: M
authors: Mukhopadhyay
authors: Marat
authors: M
authors: Gorivodsky
authors: Svetlana
authors: S
authors: Shtrom
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Grinberg
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Niehrs
authors: Maria I
authors: MI
authors: Morasso
authors: Heiner
authors: H
authors: Westphal