TY - JOUR
T1 - Expression of semaphorin 3A and its receptors during mouse corneal development
AU - Ko, Ji Ae
AU - Mizuno, Yukari
AU - Yanai, Ryoji
AU - Chikama, Tai ichiro
AU - Sonoda, Koh Hei
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Grant (No. 20592045) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (KAKENHI).
PY - 2010/12/17
Y1 - 2010/12/17
N2 - Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) functions to guide the growth of neurons during development, with its effects being mediated by receptor complexes composed of neuropilin (Npn) and plexin (Plx) proteins. We have now examined the expression of Sema3A and its receptor components Npn1 and PlxA during development of the mouse cornea. Sema3A and Npn1 showed similar patterns of expression by immunohistofluorescence analysis, with such expression being prominent in the corneal epithelium during both embryonic and postnatal development. In contrast, PlxA was not expressed in the corneal epithelium until after eye opening between postnatal days 12 and 14. Laser capture microdissection followed by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction analysis also showed that the abundance of PlxA mRNA in corneal epithelial cells increased significantly during postnatal development, again in association with eye opening. Given that atmospheric oxygen is thought to play a role in corneal epithelial differentiation and maintenance, our results suggest that the up-regulation of PlxA expression in the corneal epithelium during postnatal development is triggered by exposure of the cornea to the atmosphere. Furthermore, the newly expressed PlxA may contribute to the differentiation of corneal epithelial cells by mediating Sema3A signaling.
AB - Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) functions to guide the growth of neurons during development, with its effects being mediated by receptor complexes composed of neuropilin (Npn) and plexin (Plx) proteins. We have now examined the expression of Sema3A and its receptor components Npn1 and PlxA during development of the mouse cornea. Sema3A and Npn1 showed similar patterns of expression by immunohistofluorescence analysis, with such expression being prominent in the corneal epithelium during both embryonic and postnatal development. In contrast, PlxA was not expressed in the corneal epithelium until after eye opening between postnatal days 12 and 14. Laser capture microdissection followed by reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction analysis also showed that the abundance of PlxA mRNA in corneal epithelial cells increased significantly during postnatal development, again in association with eye opening. Given that atmospheric oxygen is thought to play a role in corneal epithelial differentiation and maintenance, our results suggest that the up-regulation of PlxA expression in the corneal epithelium during postnatal development is triggered by exposure of the cornea to the atmosphere. Furthermore, the newly expressed PlxA may contribute to the differentiation of corneal epithelial cells by mediating Sema3A signaling.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbrc.2010.11.022
DO - 10.1016/j.bbrc.2010.11.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 21075075
AN - SCOPUS:78650173101
SN - 0006-291X
VL - 403
SP - 305
EP - 309
JO - Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
JF - Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
IS - 3-4
ER -