Biomedical subjects

Penny Rashbass

Publications and source records attributed to Penny Rashbass.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Characterization of the Crumbs homolog 2 (CRB2) gene and analysis of its role in retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis.

PURPOSE: Mutations in the Crumbs homolog 1 (CRB1) gene cause autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). Database searches reveal two other Crumbs homologs on chromosomes 9q33.3 and 19p13.3. The purpose of this study was to characterize the Crumbs homolog 2 (CRB2) gene on 9q33.3, to analyze its expression pattern, and to determine whether mutations in CRB2 are associated with RP and LCA. METHODS: The CRB2 mRNA and its expression pattern in human tissues were analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The cellular expression of Crb2 in the mouse eye was determined by mRNA in situ hybridizations. The open reading frame and splice junctions of CRB2 were analyzed for mutations by single-strand conformation analysis and direct nucleotide sequencing in 85 RP patients and 79 LCA patients. RESULTS: The CRB2 gene consists of 13 exons and encodes a 1285 amino acid transmembrane protein. CRB2 is mainly expressed in retina, brain, and kidney. In mouse retina Crb2 expression was detected in all cell layers. Mutation analysis of the CRB2 gene revealed 11 sequence variants leading to an amino acid substitution. Three of them were not identified in control individuals and affect conserved amino acid residues. However, the patients that carry these sequence variants do not have a second sequence variant on the other allele, excluding autosomal recessive inheritance of CRB2 sequence variants as a cause of their disease. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that CRB2 sequence variants are not a common cause of autosomal recessive RP and LCA. It is possible that a more complex clinical phenotype is associated with the loss or altered function of CRB2 in humans due to its expression in tissues other than the retina.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Foxn1 is required for tissue assembly and desmosomal cadherin expression in the hair shaft.

The mouse nude mutation inactivates the gene encoding the Foxn1 transcription factor, causing defective hair morphogenesis. Here, we show for the first time that Foxn1 is required for proper assembly of the hair medulla, and we identify Foxn1-regulated genes by transcript profiling. One such gene encodes the desmosomal cadherin, Dsc2. Significantly, Foxn1-dependent Dsc2 expression is restricted to the hair medulla, and within these cells, Dsc2 protein is predominantly localized to specialized adhesion junctions between the cortex and the medulla. Our results reveal Foxn1 as an essential regulator of tissue assembly in the growing hair shaft and implicate Dsc2 as a downstream effector of this activity.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Crumbs homologue 1 is required for maintenance of photoreceptor cell polarization and adhesion during light exposure.

Loss of Crumbs homologue 1 (CRB1) function causes either the eye disease Leber congenital amaurosis or progressive retinitis pigmentosa, depending on the amount of residual CRB1 activity and the genetic background. Crb1 localizes specifically to the sub-apical region adjacent to the adherens junction complex at the outer limiting membrane in the retina. We show that it is associated here with multiple PDZ protein 1 (Mupp1), protein associated with Lin-7 (Pals1 or Mpp5) and Mpp4. We have produced Crb1(-/-) mice completely lacking any functional Crb1. Although the retinas are initially normal, by 3-9 months the Crb1(-/-) retinas develop localized lesions where the integrity of the outer limiting membrane is lost and giant half rosettes are formed. After delamination of the photoreceptor layer, neuronal cell death occurs in the inner and outer nuclear layers of the retina. On moderate exposure to light for 3 days at 3 months of age, the number of severe focal retinal lesions significantly increases in the Crb1(-/-) retina. Crb2, Crb3 and Crb1 interacting proteins remain localized to the sub-apical region and therefore are not sufficient to maintain cell adhesion during light exposure in Crb1(-/-) retinas. Thus we propose that during light exposure Crb1 is essential to maintain, but not assemble, adherens junctions between photoreceptors and Müller glia cells and prevents retinal disorganization and dystrophy. Hence, light may be an influential factor in the development of the corresponding human diseases.

Adherens Junctions↗

PubMed2004

Reducing the variability in cDNA microarray image processing by Bayesian inference.

MOTIVATION: Gene expression levels are obtained from microarray experiments through the extraction of pixel intensities from a scanned image of the slide. It is widely acknowledged that variabilities can occur in expression levels extracted from the same images by different users with the same software packages. These inconsistencies arise due to differences in the refinement of the placement of the microarray 'grids'. We introduce a novel automated approach to the refinement of grid placements that is based upon the use of Bayesian inference for determining the size, shape and positioning of the microarray 'spots', capturing uncertainty that can be passed to downstream analysis. RESULTS: Our experiments demonstrate that variability between users can be significantly reduced using the approach. The automated nature of the approach also saves hours of researchers' time normally spent in refining the grid placement.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

Pax6 regulates cell adhesion during cortical development.

Pax6 is a member of an evolutionarily conserved family of transcription factors. It is developmentally regulated and is required for the normal embryonic development of the central nervous system, eye and pancreas. Pax6 mutations in the mouse result in the Small eye (Sey) phenotype. Heterozygous mice have eye defects and homozygotes die immediately after birth lacking eyes, nasal cavities and with severe brain abnormalities, including a malformed cerebral cortex. Recent work has established that there are changes in expression of cell adhesion molecules and these may underlie at least a part of the Pax6(Sey/Sey) phenotype. Here we used cell transplants and explant cultures to investigate the role of Pax6 in cell adhesion. Pax6(Sey/Sey) embryonic cortical cells transplanted into wild-type embryonic cortex were observed to segregate from wild-type cells and form dense clusters. Cells migrating from explants of Pax6(Sey/Sey) embryonic cortex clustered to a greater extent than cells migrating from wild-type controls. These new data support the hypothesis that Pax6 exerts a cell-autonomous effect on the adhesiveness of cortical cells.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Pax6 is required to regulate the cell cycle and the rate of progression from symmetrical to asymmetrical division in mammalian cortical progenitors.

In the proliferative zone of the developing cerebral cortex, multipotential progenitors predominate early in development and divide to increase the progenitor pool. As corticogenesis progresses, proportionately fewer progenitors are produced and, instead, cell divisions yield higher numbers of postmitotic neurones or glial cells. As the switch from the generation of progenitors to that of differentiated cells occurs, the orientation of cell division alters from predominantly symmetrical to predominantly asymmetrical. It has been hypothesised that symmetrical divisions expand the progenitor pool, whereas asymmetrical divisions generate postmitotic cells, although this remains to be proved. The molecular mechanisms regulating these processes are poorly understood. The transcription factor Pax6 is highly expressed in the cortical proliferative zone and there are morphological defects in the Pax6(Sey/Sey) (Pax6 null) cortex, but little is known about the principal cellular functions of Pax6 in this region. We have analysed the cell-cycle kinetics, the progenitor cleavage orientation and the onset of expression of differentiation markers in Pax6(Sey/Sey) cortical cells in vivo and in vitro. We showed that, early in corticogenesis at embryonic day (E) 12.5, the absence of Pax6 accelerated cortical development in vivo, shortening the cell cycle and the time taken for the onset of expression of neural-specific markers. This also occurred in dissociated culture of isolated cortical cells, indicating that the changes were intrinsic to the cortical cells. From E12.5 to E15.5, proportions of asymmetrical divisions increased more rapidly in mutant than in wild-type embryos. By E15.5, interkinetic nuclear migration during the cell cycle was disrupted and the length of the cell cycle was significantly longer than normal in the Pax6(Sey/Sey) cortex, with a lengthening of S phase. Together, these results show that Pax6 is required in developing cortical progenitors to control the cell-cycle duration, the rate of progression from symmetrical to asymmetrical division and the onset of expression of neural-specific markers.

Animals↗