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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

RNA Isolation from Mouse Ocular Lens Epithelium and Fiber Cell Bulk Masses
Published on: October 10, 2025
Loss of ephrin-A5 function disrupts lens fiber cell packing and leads to cataract
Margaret A Cooper1, Alexander I Son, Daniel Komlos
1Department of Chemical Biology, Susan Lehman-Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Abstract:
Cell-cell interactions organize lens fiber cells into highly ordered structures to maintain transparency. However, signals regulating such interactions have not been well characterized. We report here that ephrin-A5, a ligand of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinases, plays a key role in lens fiber cell shape and cell-cell interactions. Lens fiber cells in mice lacking ephrin-A5 function appear rounded and irregular in cross-section, in contrast to their normal hexagonal appearance in WT lenses. Cataracts eventually develop in 87% of ephrin-A5 KO mice. We further demonstrate that ephrin-A5 interacts with the EphA2 receptor to regulate the adherens junction complex by enhancing recruitment of beta-catenin to N-cadherin. These results indicate that the Eph receptors and their ligands are critical regulators of lens development and maintenance.
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