The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol 109, 1653-1664, Copyright © 1989 by The Rockefeller University Press

ARTICLES

Overexpression of the vimentin gene in transgenic mice inhibits normal lens cell differentiation

Y Capetanaki, S Smith and JP Heath
Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030.

To investigate the role of the intermediate filament protein vimentin in the normal differentiation and morphogenesis of the eye lens fiber cells, we generated transgenic mice bearing multiple copies of the chicken vimentin gene. In most cases, the vimentin transgene was overexpressed in the lenses of these animals, reaching up to 10 times the endogenous levels. This high expression of vimentin interfered very strongly with the normal differentiation of the lens fibers. The normal fiber cell denucleation and elongation processes were impaired and the animals developed pronounced cataracts, followed by extensive lens degeneration. The age of appearance and extent of these abnormalities in the different transgenic lines were directly related to the vimentin level. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that the accumulated transgenic protein forms normal intermediate filaments.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Lian, N., Wang, W., Li, L., Elefteriou, F., Yang, X. (2009). Vimentin Inhibits ATF4-mediated Osteocalcin Transcription and Osteoblast Differentiation. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 30518-30525 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• De Maria, A., Bassnett, S. (2007). DNase II Distribution and Activity in the Mouse Lens. IOVS 48: 5638-5646 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zandy, A. J., Bassnett, S. (2007). Proteolytic Mechanisms Underlying Mitochondrial Degradation in the Ocular Lens. IOVS 48: 293-302 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Zandy, A. J., Lakhani, S., Zheng, T., Flavell, R. A., Bassnett, S. (2005). Role of the Executioner Caspases during Lens Development. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 30263-30272 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Straub, B. K., Boda, J., Kuhn, C., Schnoelzer, M., Korf, U., Kempf, T., Spring, H., Hatzfeld, M., Franke, W. W. (2003). A novel cell-cell junction system: the cortex adhaerens mosaic of lens fiber cells. J. Cell Sci. 116: 4985-4995 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Blankenship, T. N., Hess, J. F., FitzGerald, P. G. (2001). Development- and Differentiation-Dependent Reorganization of Intermediate Filaments in Fiber Cells. IOVS 42: 735-742 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• JANOSCH, P., KIESER, A., EULITZ, M., LOVRIC, J., SAUER, G., REICHERT, M., GOUNARI, F., BÜSCHER, D., BACCARINI, M., MISCHAK, H., KOLCH, W. (2000). The Raf-1 kinase associates with vimentin kinases and regulates the structure of vimentin filaments. FASEB J. 14: 2008-2021 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuchs, E., Cleveland, D. W. (1998). A Structural Scaffolding of Intermediate Filaments in Health and Disease. Science 279: 514-519 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Eckes, B, Dogic, D, Colucci-Guyon, E, Wang, N, Maniotis, A, Ingber, D, Merckling, A, Langa, F, Aumailley, M, Delouvee, A, Koteliansky, V, Babinet, C, Krieg, T (1998). Impaired mechanical stability, migration and contractile capacity in vimentin-deficient fibroblasts. J. Cell Sci. 111: 1897-1907 [Abstract]  
• Sandilands, A, Prescott, A., Carter, J., Hutcheson, A., Quinlan, R., Richards, J, FitzGerald, P. (1995). Vimentin and CP49/filensin form distinct networks in the lens which are independently modulated during lens fibre cell differentiation. J. Cell Sci. 108: 1397-1406 [Abstract]  
• Perez-Castro, A., Tran, V., Nguyen-Huu, M. (1993). Defective lens fiber differentiation and pancreatic tumorigenesis caused by ectopic expression of the cellular retinoic acid-binding protein I. Development 119: 363-375 [Abstract]  

Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents