Abstract
A central question in development biology is how a limited set of signalling pathways can instruct unlimited diversity of multicellular organisms. In this review, we use three ocular tissues as models of increasing complexity to present the astounding versatility of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling. In the lacrimal gland, we highlight the specificity of FGF signalling in a one-dimensional model of budding morphogenesis. In the lens, we showcase the dynamics of FGF signalling in altering functional outcomes in a two-dimensional space. In the retina, we present the prolific utilization of FGF signalling from three-dimensional development to homeostasis. These examples not only shed light on the cellular basis for the perfection and complexity of ocular development, but also serve as paradigms for the diversity of FGF signalling.
Highlights
From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.Charles Darwin, The Origin of SpeciesThe endless diversity of living organisms inspired Charles Darwin to discover the theory of evolution
When embryonic rat eyecups are cultured without the lens, the ciliary margin (CM) tissue is replaced with the neural retina (NR) [89,90]. These findings demonstrate that signals from the surface ectoderm and the lens induce the specification of the NR, CM and retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE)
We have presented three vignettes to showcase how a single intercellular communication pathway like fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling can make such diverse, multifaceted contributions to ocular development
Summary
From so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. We will mainly focus on the role of FGF signalling in three unique components of the eye: the lacrimal gland (LG) as a one-dimensional model for budding morphogenesis to generate a glandular structure, the lens as a two-dimensional model for patterning and differentiation of a sensory placode, and lastly, the retina as a three-dimensional model for neurogenesis and homeostasis in the central nervous system. The LG is a tear-secreting organ which lubricates and protects the ocular surface It begins to form on day 13.5 of mouse embryonic development (E13.5) with the thickening of the conjunctival epithelium (CE) at the temporal side of the eye [2] (figure 2a). These findings beg the question: what makes FGF10/ Fgf unique among growth factors to be both necessary and sufficient for the induction of development in the LG? we still don’t have a complete answer to this fundamental question, recent efforts are beginning to reveal that the remarkable specificity of FGF10/Fgf signalling is an accumulative effect of ligand, receptor, cytoplasmic and transcriptional factors
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