Heterozygous mutations in the homeobox gene, PITX2, result in ocular anterior segment defects and a high incidence of early-onset glaucoma. Pitx2 is expressed in both the neural crest and the mesoderm-derived precursors of the periocular mesenchyme. Complete loss of function in mice results in agenesis or severe disruption of periocular mesenchyme structures and extrinsic defects in early optic...

PURPOSE The homeobox transcription factor PITX2 is a known regulator of mammalian ocular development, and human PITX2 mutations are associated with Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome (ARS). However, the treatment of patients with ARS remains mostly supportive and palliative. METHODS The authors used molecular genetic, pharmacologic, and embryologic techniques to study the biology of ARS in a zebrafish ...

THERE have been described about thirty cases of this interesting phenomenon. Axenfeld and Schuirenberg (1901) have their names attached to the condition in the Continental literature; they called it " Cyclic Congenital Oculomotor Disease". Fuchs, however, described a case much earlier (1893). The clinical picture is quite different from recurrent oculomotor palsy. The cause is still a matter of...

PURPOSE Electronic health record systems provide great opportunity to study most diseases. Objective of this study was to determine whether electronic medical records (EMR) in ophthalmology contribute to management of rare eye diseases, isolated or in syndromes. Study was designed to identify and collect patients' data with ophthalmology-specific EMR. METHODS Ophthalmology-specific EMR softwa...

Congenital hydrocephalus is an etiologically diverse, poorly understood, but relatively common birth defect. Most human cases are sporadic with familial forms showing considerable phenotypic and etiologic heterogeneity. We have studied the autosomal recessive mouse mutation congenital hydrocephalus ( ch ) to identify candidate human hydrocephalus genes and their modifiers. ch mice have a congen...

Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome (ARS) patients with PITX2 point mutations exhibit a wide range of clinical features including mild craniofacial dysmorphism and dental anomalies. Identifying new PITX2 targets and transcriptional mechanisms are important to understand the molecular basis of these anomalies. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrate PITX2 binding to the FoxJ1 promoter and PITX2C t...

Five missense mutations (P79L, P79T, I91S, I91T and R127H) within the forkhead DNA-binding domain of the FOXC1 transcription factor, identified in patients with Axenfeld-Rieger (AR) malformations, were studied to identify the effects of these mutations on FOXC1 structure and function. Molecular modeling and threading analyses predict that the I91S and T mutations may generate local disruptions ...

Normal vision requires the precise control of vascular growth to maintain corneal transparency. Here we provide evidence for a unique mechanism by which the Forkhead box transcription factor FoxC1 regulates corneal vascular development. Murine Foxc1 is essential for development of the ocular anterior segment, and in humans, mutations have been identified in Axenfeld-Rieger syndrome, a disorder ...

Members of the type IV collagen family are essential components of all basement membranes (BMs) and define structural stability as well as tissue-specific functions. The major isoform, alpha1.alpha1.alpha2(IV), contributes to the formation of many BMs and its deficiency causes embryonic lethality in mouse. We have identified an allelic series of three ENU induced dominant mouse mutants with mis...