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© The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525/2001/7/11 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 154, Number 1, July 9, 2001 11-11

Cataracts and NrCAM

Cataracts form in mice lacking NrCAM.

The mice are slightly smaller than their heterozygous littermates and show a slight motor defect, but are viable and fertile, and lack any histological abnormalities in any neural tissues. Their commissural axons cross the spinal cord midline normally, an unexpected result because previous work had suggested a requirement for NrCAM in directing commissural axon growth.

While the absence of NrCAM does not appear to cause serious problems in neuronal tissue, NrCAM -/- mice develop cataracts because of a failure in establishing contact between lens fiber cells, and thus presumably a failure in forming normal water channels. Flow through these channels appears to be important for lens clarity, and defects in communication between lens fiber cells in the eye leads to the breakdown of the cells. Mice lacking ankyrin-B display a similar disorganization in the lens fiber, providing genetic evidence that NrCAM function requires a link to the cytoskeleton via ankyrin. The new work is also the first demonstration of NrCAM expression in the lens.

Cataracts are the most common cause of visual impairment in humans. If mutations in human NrCAM or ankyrin-B are also involved in the formation of cataracts, then drugs or gene therapy strategies targeting these proteins might be medically important.

Alan W. Dove

alanwdove{at}earthlink.net

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Targeted ablation of NrCAM or ankyrin-B results in disorganized lens fibers leading to cataract formation

Margret I. Moré, Frank-P. Kirsch, and Fritz G. Rathjen
J. Cell Biol. 2001 154: 187-196. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article PPT slides of all figures Alert me when this article is cited Services Email this article Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new content in the JCB Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dove, A. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Dove, A. W. Related Collections Related Article Social Bookmarking                            What's this?