The planar cell polarity effector gene Fuz regulates ciliogenesis and Fuz loss of function studies reveal an array of embryonic phenotypes. However, cilia defects can affect many signaling pathways and, in humans, cilia defects underlie several craniofacial anomalies. To address this, we analyzed the craniofacial phenotype and signaling responses of the Fuz(-/-) mice. We demonstrate a unique ro...

PURPOSE Microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and coloboma are ocular malformations with a significant genetic component. Rx is a homeobox gene expressed early in the developing retina and is important in retinal cell fate specification as well as stem cell proliferation. We screened a group of 24 patients with microphthalmia, coloboma, and/or anophthalmia for RX mutations. METHODS We used standard P...

AIMS This survey was conducted on children in schools for the blind in Tehran (from 2002 to 2003) to determine the causes of severe visual impairment and blindness and to identify preventable and treatable conditions. METHODS The study was performed on 362 students at different grades in three schools for the blind. Patient sex, age, family history of blindness or low vision, visual acuity, c...

BACKGROUND Phagocytosis of apoptotic cells is fundamental to animal development, immune function and cellular homeostasis. The phosphatidylserine receptor (Ptdsr) on phagocytes has been implicated in the recognition and engulfment of apoptotic cells and in anti-inflammatory signaling. To determine the biological function of the phosphatidylserine receptor in vivo, we inactivated the Ptdsr gene ...

PURPOSE The migratory neural crest cell population makes a significant contribution to the anterior segment structures of the eye. Consequently, several anterior segment dysgenesis phenotypes are associated with mutations in genes expressed during neural crest development. The forkhead box D3 (FOXD3) gene encodes a forkhead transcription factor that plays an important role in neural crest speci...

Anophthalmia and microphthalmia are among the most common ocular birth defects and a significant cause of congenital blindness. The etiology of anophthalmia and microphthalmia is diverse, with multiple genetic mutations associated with each of these conditions, along with potential environmental causes. Based on findings that mutations in the Rx/Rax homeobox genes in mice and fish lead to defec...

The human Zip4 gene (Slc39a4) is mutated in the rare recessive genetic disorder of zinc metabolism acrodermatitis enteropathica, but the physiological functions of Zip4 are not well understood. Herein we demonstrate that homozygous Zip4-knockout mouse embryos die during early morphogenesis and heterozygous offspring are significantly underrepresented. At mid-gestation, an array of developmental...

PURPOSE The membrane-type frizzled-related protein (MFRP) gene is selectively expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium and ciliary body, and mutations of this gene cause nanophthalmos. The MFRP gene may not be essential for retinal function but has been hypothesized to play a role in ocular axial length regulation. The involvement of the MFRP gene in moderate to high hyperopic, isolated micr...

The combination of pulmonary agenesis and anophtalmia or microphthalmia has been described previously. This condition is known as Matthew-Wood syndrome and PDAC syndrome (pulmonary hypoplasia/ agenesis, diaphragmatic hernia/eventration, anophthalmia/microphthalmia, and cardiac defect). We report a sporadic case of female infant with the combination of bilateral microphthalmia, unilateral right ...

PURPOSE Sex determining region Y (SRY)-box 2 (SOX2) anophthalmia syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder manifesting as severe developmental eye malformations associated with brain, esophageal, genital, and kidney abnormalities. The syndrome is usually caused by de novo mutations or deletions in the transcription factor SOX2. To investigate any potential parental susceptibility factors, we s...