IBN 9604843 PI: Reh The development of the eye involves several different interactions to organize the neural network of the retina and the related non-neural pigment epithelium. During early developmental stages, cells called blastomeres have the potential to later differentiate into progeny cells that can become a variety of different types. Later, the type of cell which can arise from further cell divisions becomes more restricted. Work on transplanted cells from various stages has shown that both intrinsic genetic factors and extrinsic factors in the developing environment apparently influence these cell fates to some degree. This project uses the techniques of cell culture and molecular biology to examine the molecular factors that control eye development. Specifically, the investigators will attempt to understand how extracellular secreted factors, like FGF and follistatin, control eye development through their regulation of critical eye determining transcription factors, like pax6. The results will be important for understanding how cell interactions bring about the self-assembly of the developing nervous system.
