The role of the lens actin cytoskeleton in fiber cell elongation and differentiation.
The vertebrate ocular lens is a fascinating and unique transparent tissue that grows continuously throughout life. During the process of differentiation into fiber cells, lens epithelial cells undergo dramatic morphological changes, membrane remodeling, polarization, transcriptional activation and elimination of cellular organelles including nuclei, concomitant with migration towards the lens interior. Most of these events are presumed to be influenced in large part, by dynamic reorganization of the cellular actin cytoskeleton and by intercellular and cell: extracellular matrix interactions. In light of recent and unprecedented advancement in our understanding of the mechanistic bases underlying regulation of actin cytoskeletal dynamics and the role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell function, this review attempts to summarize current knowledge regarding the role of the cellular actin cytoskeleton, in lens fiber cell elongation and differentiation, and regulation of actin cytoskeletal organization in the lens.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Lens, Crystalline
- Humans
- Developmental Biology
- Cytoskeleton
- Cell Differentiation
- Animals
- Actins
- 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
- 1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
- 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Lens, Crystalline
- Humans
- Developmental Biology
- Cytoskeleton
- Cell Differentiation
- Animals
- Actins
- 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
- 1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
- 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology