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Biochem Biophys Res Commun
2004 May 28;3182:485-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2004.04.079.
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Tbx12 regulates eye development in Xenopus embryos.
Carson CT
,
Pagratis M
,
Parr BA
.
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The regulation of vertebrate eye development requires the activity of many transcription factors. In this report, we demonstrate that the T-box factor Tbx12 is necessary for normal development of the retina. Tbx12 is expressed during early stages of retinal development in multiple species of vertebrate embryos. We injected mRNAs encoding wild type and mutant forms of Tbx12 into Xenopus embryos. The Tbx12 injected embryos exhibit multiple defects in eye development including reduced eye size and disruption of normal retinal laminar organization. Tbx12 appears to function as a repressor of transcription during eye development. Our results indicate that Tbx12 activity is required for the proper generation and organization of retinal cells in the vertebrate eye.
Fig. 1. Tbx12 expression in the retina (arrows) of E9.5 mouse embryos
(A) and stage 28 Xenopus embryos (B).
Fig. 2. Eye phenotypes for representative Xenopus embryos injected
with the indicated Tbx12 mRNAs. For each construct, two mutant
embryos are shown in the middle and indicated by arrows. The top and
bottom embryos of each set of four are control (GFP injected) embryos.
Stage 38 Tbx12-EnR embryos (A), stage 46 Tbx12-EnR embryos
(B), and stage 46 Tbx12-myc embryos (C) all exhibit small eye phenotypes.
In contrast, stage 38 Tbx12-VP16 embryos (D) display
moderately enlarged eyes.
Fig. 3. Examples of common phenotypes observed in Tbx12-EnR injected
embryos. (A,B) Control stage 48 embryos viewed from the top
and side. (C) Tbx12-EnR embryo with eye (arrow) placed more medial
than normal. (D) Side view of Tbx12-EnR embryo with “notched” eye
phenotype (arrow). (E) Tbx12-EnR embryo with thickened and
pigmented optic stalk (arrow). (F) Increased concentration of melanocytes
in the head region of a Tbx12-EnR embryo. (G) Section
through wild type eye of stage 46 embryo. Note the obvious laminar
pattern of cellular organization in the retina. (H) Section through the
eye of a Tbx12-EnR embryo. Note the absence of the normal laminar
organization.
Fig. 4. In situ hybridization analysis of mRNA expression in the eyes
(arrows) of stage 28 wild type and Tbx12-EnR injected embryos.
