title: NTPDase2 and the P2Y1 receptor are not required for mammalian eye formation.
abstract: Eye formation in vertebrates is controlled by a conserved pattern of molecular networks. Homeobox transcription factors are crucially involved in the establishment and maintenance of the retina. A previous study of Massé et al. (Nature, 449: 1058-62, 2007) using morpholino knockdown identified the ectonucleotidase NTPDase2 and the P2Y1 receptor as essential elements for eye formation in embryos of the clawed frog Xenopus laevis. In order to investigate whether a similarly essential mechanism would be active in mammalian eye development, we analyzed mice KO for Entpd2 or P2ry1 as well as double KO for Entpd2/P2ry1. These mice developed normal eyes. In order to identify potential deficits in the molecular identity or in the arrangement of the cellular elements of the retina, we performed an immunohistological analysis using a variety of retinal markers. The analysis of single and double KO mice demonstrated that NTPDase2 and P2Y1 receptors are not required for murine eye formation, as previously shown for eye development in Xenopus laevis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, Germany, k.gampe@bio.uni-frankfurt.de.
authors.forename: Kristine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gampe
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haverkamp
authors.forename: Simon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Robson
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gachet
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hüser
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acker-Palmer
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005123:Eye / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D038081:Organogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D058472:Receptors, Purinergic P2Y1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012160:Retina / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D058472:Receptors, Purinergic P2Y1; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C027201:ectoATPase