Eye development: a view from the retina pigmented epithelium

The retina pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialised epithelium that serves as a multifunctional and indispensable component of the vertebrate eye. Although a great deal of attention has been paid to its transdifferentiation capabilities and its ancillary functions in neural retina developmen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioEssays 2004-07, Vol.26 (7), p.766-777
Main Authors: Ramón Martínez-Morales, Juan, Rodrigo, Isabel, Bovolenta, Paola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Evolution
Cell Differentiation
Humans
Neurons - cytology
Neurons - metabolism
Pigment Epithelium of Eye - cytology
Pigment Epithelium of Eye - embryology
Pigment Epithelium of Eye - metabolism
Retina - cytology
Retina - embryology
Retina - metabolism
Transcription Factors - metabolism
Vertebrata
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Summary:The retina pigment epithelium (RPE) is a highly specialised epithelium that serves as a multifunctional and indispensable component of the vertebrate eye. Although a great deal of attention has been paid to its transdifferentiation capabilities and its ancillary functions in neural retina development, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that specify the RPE itself. Recent advances in our understanding of the genetic network that controls the progressive specification of the eye anlage in vertebrates have provided some of the initial cues to the mechanisms responsible for RPE patterning. Here, we have outlined many recent findings that suggest that a limited number of transcription factors, including Otx2, Mitf and Pax6 and a few signalling cascades, are the elements required for the onset of RPE specification in vertebrates. Furthermore, using this information and the data available on the specification of the pigmented cells of primitive chordates, we have ventured some hypotheses on the origin of RPE cells during evolution. BioEssays 26:766–777, 2004. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0265-9247
1521-1878
DOI:10.1002/bies.20064