Induction of Lens Differentiation by Activation of a bZIP Transcription Factor, L-Maf

作者：Hajime Ogino, Kunio Yasuda · 发表于：Science · 年份：1998 · DOI：10.1126/science.280.5360.115 · 被引用次数：281 · 研究领域：Connexins and lens biology、Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities、Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation

After the vertebrate lens is induced from head ectoderm, lens-specific genes are expressed. Transcriptional regulation of the lens-specific alphaA-crystallin gene is controlled by an enhancer element, alphaCE2. A gene encoding an alphaCE2-binding protein, L-maf(lens-specific maf), was isolated. L-maf expression is initiated in the lens placode and is restricted to lens cells. The gene product L-Maf regulates the expression of multiple genes expressed in the lens, and ectopic expression of this transcription factor converts chick embryonic ectodermal cells and cultured cells into lens fibers. Thus, vertebrate lens induction and differentiation can be triggered by the activation of L-Maf.