Wakayama Symposium: Epithelial-mesenchymal interaction regulates tissue formation and characteristics: insights for corneal development.
Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are essential during tissue formation and organ morphogenesis. The roles of Wnt/β-catenin signaling have been studied in many organ systems. In this review, we describe the importance of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by comparing skin and corneal development of Wnt/β-catenin gain of function (GOF) mutant mice. In the skin, Wnt/β-catenin signals have been suggested to play essential roles in regulating cell-cell interaction, cell proliferation and differentiation. Wnt signaling may be associated with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin. In the case of cornea, β-catenin GOF mutation leads to epithelial hyperplasia. Investigation of the mechanisms of growth factor signaling as a reference to general organogenesis could provide profound insights for understanding corneal development and pathogenesis.
Department of Developmental Genetics Research, Institute of Advanced Medicine, Wakayama Medical University (WMU), Wakayama, Japan.
Kentaro
K
Suzuki
Chikako
C
Yokoyama
Yujiro
Y
Higashi
Takiko
T
Daikoku
Shin
S
Mizoguchi
Shizuya
S
Saika
Gen
G
Yamada
D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000502:physiology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D012867:Skin / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism