Int. J. Dev. Biol. 48: 975 - 980 (2004)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.041867pt

Vol 48, Issue 8-9

Special Issue: Eye Development

A newt's eye view of lens regeneration

Published: 1 November 2004

Panagiotis A. Tsonis*^,1, Mayur Madhavan², Emily E. Tancous² and Katia Del Rio-Tsonis²

¹Department of Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA and ²Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

Abstract

In this paper we describe the basic process of lens regeneration in adult newt and we pinpoint several issues in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of this ability, which is restricted to only a few salamanders. The process is characterized by dynamic changes in the organization of the extracellular matrix in the eye, re-entering of the cell cycle and dedifferentiation of the dorsal iris pigment epithelial cells. The ability of the dorsal iris to contribute to lens regeneration is discussed in light of iris-specific gene expression as well as in relation to factors present in the eye.

Keywords

lens, regeneration, newt, transdifferentiation, iris