title: Neither MafA/L-Maf nor MafB is essential for lens development in mice.
abstract: The importance of the large Maf transcription factor family has been investigated in lens development in the chick, Xenopus and mammals. Previously we reported that c-maf-deficient mice exhibit severe defects in lens fibre cells. Here, we report the roles of other large Mafs, MafA/L-Maf and MafB, during mouse lens development. MafA/L-Maf and MafB were expressed in lens epithelial cells and fibre cells at E12.5 but had largely disappeared from the lens at E18.5. The lens of mafA-, mafB-deficient and mafA::mafB double-deficient mice developed normally. In c-maf-deficient mice, the pattern of expression of MafA and MafB differed from their expression in wild-type mice. Moreover, the expression of crystallin genes was unchanged in mafA-, mafB- and mafA::mafB double-deficient lens. These results indicate that c-Maf alone is essential for lens development, and that MafA/L-Maf and MafB are dispensable in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Doctoral Program in Life System Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.forename: Kiyohito
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Michito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kito
authors.forename: Yasuhito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Norifumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: James Douglas
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Engel
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002645:Chickens; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051473:Maf Transcription Factors, Large / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051258:MafB Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D051257:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-maf / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D051473:Maf Transcription Factors, Large; C495608:Maf protein, mouse; D051258:MafB Transcription Factor; C485160:Mafa protein, mouse; C490406:Mafb protein, mouse; D051257:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-maf