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Boobalan E, Thompson AH, Alur RP, McGaughey DM, Dong L, Shih G, Vieta-Ferrer ER, Onojafe IF, Kalaskar VK, Arno G, Lotery AJ, Guan B, Bender C, Memon O, Brinster L, Soleilhavoup C, Panman L, Badea TC, Minella A, Lopez AJ, Thomasy SM, Moshiri A, Blain D, Hufnagel RB, Cogliati T, Bharti K, Brooks BP. Zfp503/Nlz2 Is Required for RPE Differentiation and Optic Fissure Closure. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2022; 63:5. [PMID: 36326727 PMCID: PMC9645360 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.12.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Uveal coloboma is a congenital eye malformation caused by failure of the optic fissure to close in early human development. Despite significant progress in identifying genes whose regulation is important for executing this closure, mutations are detected in a minority of cases using known gene panels, implying additional genetic complexity. We have previously shown knockdown of znf503 (the ortholog of mouse Zfp503) in zebrafish causes coloboma. Here we characterize Zfp503 knockout (KO) mice and evaluate transcriptomic profiling of mutant versus wild-type (WT) retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)/choroid. Methods Zfp503 KO mice were generated by gene targeting using homologous recombination. Embryos were characterized grossly and histologically. Patterns and level of developmentally relevant proteins/genes were examined with immunostaining/in situ hybridization. The transcriptomic profile of E11.5 KO RPE/choroid was compared to that of WT. Results Zfp503 is dynamically expressed in developing mouse eyes, and loss of its expression results in uveal coloboma. KO embryos exhibit altered mRNA levels and expression patterns of several key transcription factors involved in eye development, including Otx2, Mitf, Pax6, Pax2, Vax1, and Vax2, resulting in a failure to maintain the presumptive RPE, as evidenced by reduced melanin pigmentation and its differentiation into a neural retina-like lineage. Comparison of RNA sequencing data from WT and KO E11.5 embryos demonstrated reduced expression of melanin-related genes and significant overlap with genes known to be dynamically regulated at the optic fissure. Conclusions These results demonstrate a critical role of Zfp503 in maintaining RPE fate and optic fissure closure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elangovan Boobalan
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Amy H. Thompson
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Ramakrishna P. Alur
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - David M. McGaughey
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Lijin Dong
- Mouse Genetic Engineering Core, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Grace Shih
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Emile R. Vieta-Ferrer
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Ighovie F. Onojafe
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Vijay K. Kalaskar
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Gavin Arno
- University College London Institute of Ophthalmology, London, United Kingdom,Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew J. Lotery
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Bin Guan
- Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Chelsea Bender
- Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Omar Memon
- Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Lauren Brinster
- Division of Veterinary Resources, Office of Research Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | | | - Lia Panman
- MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Tudor C. Badea
- Retinal Circuit Development and Genetics Unit, Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration and Repair Laboratory, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States,Research and Development Institute, Transilvania University of Brașov, Brașov, Romania,National Center for Brain Research, ICIA, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, România
| | - Andrea Minella
- Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Antonio Jacobo Lopez
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, School of Medicine, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Sara M. Thomasy
- Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, United States,Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, School of Medicine, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Ala Moshiri
- Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, School of Medicine, University of California–Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Delphine Blain
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Robert B. Hufnagel
- Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Tiziana Cogliati
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Kapil Bharti
- Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Brian P. Brooks
- Pediatric, Developmental & Genetic Ophthalmology Section, Ophthalmic Genetics & Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
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