title: Abnormal corneal epithelial maintenance in mice heterozygous for the micropinna microphthalmia mutation Mp.
abstract: We investigated the corneal morphology of adult Mp/+ mice, which are heterozygous for the micropinna microphthalmia mutation, and identified several abnormalities, which implied that corneal epithelial maintenance was abnormal. The Mp/+ corneal epithelium was thin, loosely packed and contained goblet cells in older mice. Evidence also suggested that the barrier function was compromised. However, there was no major effect on corneal epithelial cell turnover and mosaic patterns of radial stripes indicated that radial cell movement was normal. Limbal blood vessels formed an abnormally wide limbal vasculature ring, K19-positive cells were distributed more widely than normal and K12 was weakly expressed in the peripheral cornea. This raises the possibilities that the limbal-corneal boundary was poorly defined or the limbus was wider than normal. BrdU label-retaining cell numbers and quantitative clonal analysis suggested that limbal epithelial stem cell numbers were not depleted and might be higher than normal. However, as corneal epithelial homeostasis was abnormal, it is possible that Mp/+ stem cell function was impaired. It has been shown recently that the Mp mutation involves a chromosome 18 inversion that disrupts the Fbn2 and Isoc1 genes and produces an abnormal, truncated fibrillin-2(MP) protein. This abnormal protein accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of cells that normally express Fbn2 and causes ER stress. It was also shown that Fbn2 is expressed in the corneal stroma but not the corneal epithelium, suggesting that the presence of truncated fibrillin-2(MP) protein in the corneal stroma disrupts corneal epithelial homeostasis in Mp/+ mice.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Douvaras
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.
authors.forename: Natalie J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Dorà
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Mort
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lodge
authors.affiliation: Medical and Developmental Genetics Section, MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC IGMM, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK.
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Group, Centre for Integrative Physiology, Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Hugh Robson Building, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9XD, UK. Electronic address: John.West@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002452:Cell Count; D002465:Cell Movement; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006579:Heterozygote; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008850:Microphthalmos / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009154:Mutation
keywords: Corneal epithelium; Corneal homeostasis; Limbal epithelial stem cells; Limbus; Micropinna microphthalmia mutant; Mouse; Mp mutant