Gene regulation and differentiation in vertebrate ocular tissues

Molecular biological techniques have contributed greatly to the study of vertebrate ocular tissues. The specification of ocular tissues has been shown to be closely related to the expression of transcription factors encoded by genes such as Pax6 and microphthalmia. Lens-specific expression of the delta 1-crystallin gene is controlled by factors, such as delta EF1, binding to its enhancer sequences. Retinal activity of the glucocorticoid hormone receptor is regulated by its binding with another transcription factor. Degeneration of photoreceptors in a retinal disease, retinitis pigmentosa, can be caused by the introduction of a mutated opsin gene into mice. In addition, the process of transdifferentiation in ocular tissues has been described at the level of gene expression.