Disease relevance of Otx2

• METHODS: Crx and Otx2 were transferred into adult rat ciliary- and embryonic mesencephalon-derived neurospheres and adult rat iris-derived cells with the aid of a recombinant retrovirus [1].

High impact information on Otx2

• In these cultures, Otx2 is expressed by precursor cells, whereas Dlx1 and Emx1 are predominantly expressed by postmitotic cells [2].
• Our results suggest that a restricted population of neuroblasts respond to FGF2 in a temporally regulated fashion by proliferating and increasing Otx2 expression [2].
• Fibroblast growth factor 2 increases Otx2 expression in precursor cells from mammalian telencephalon [2].
• At E13.5, the effect of FGF2 on Otx2 expression was restricted to the basal telencephalon [2].
• This interaction between FGF2 and Otx2 may be important for the regulation of neurogenesis in the forebrain [2].

Biological context of Otx2

• Otx2 homeobox gene induces photoreceptor-specific phenotypes in cells derived from adult iris and ciliary tissue [1].

Anatomical context of Otx2

• That both Crx and Otx2 induced phenotype generation in cells derived from iris or ciliary tissue may suggest an approach to photoreceptor cell preparation for retinal transplantation [1].
• Even in those embryos which apparently lacked all forebrain and midbrain structures, there were expression domains of Otx2 and Emx2 in the most rostral neural tissue, and these retained their nested dorso-ventral boundaries, showing that cells fated to form rostral brain were not wholly eliminated [3].

Other interactions of Otx2

• CONCLUSIONS: Crx and Otx2 effectively induced the generation of photoreceptor-specific phenotypes from ciliary- and iris-derived cells [1].
• Whole-mount in situ hybridisation was used to monitor the expression domains of Otx2, Emx2, Krox20, and hoxb1 [3].

References