Growth factor signaling in lens fiber differentiation

Abstract

Since the first reports of experimental lens inversion causing changes in lens cell fate in the 1960s, various factors including the mitogens IGF, EGF, PDGF, as well as Wnts, Notch, and BMPs have been implicated in the regulation of lens fiber cell differentiation, although the preponderance of evidence suggests that FGFs provide the major signal for this process. It is becoming increasingly apparent that complex interactions between the signaling pathways activated by these factors are required to generate functional fiber cells. Disruption of these signaling cascades usually results in the formation of congenital lens defects, including cataracts, and it is likely that these signaling casc..