Expression and Function of ZEB1 in the Cornea.

Yingnan Zhang, Xiao Liu, Wei Liang, Douglas C Dean, Lijun Zhang, Yongqing Liu

Journal: Cells 2021;10(4):925

PMID: 33923743

Abstract

["ZEB1 is an important transcription factor for epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and in the regulation of cell differentiation and transformation. In the cornea, ZEB1 presents in all three layers: the epithelium, the stroma and the endothelium. Mutations of ZEB1 have been linked to multiple corneal genetic defects, particularly to the corneal dystrophies including keratoconus (KD), Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD), and posterior polymorphous corneal dystrophy (PPCD). Accumulating evidence indicates that dysfunction of ZEB1 may affect corneal stem cell homeostasis, and cause corneal cell apoptosis, stromal fibrosis, angiogenesis, squamous metaplasia. Understanding how ZEB1 regulates the initiation and progression of these disorders will help us in targeting ZEB1 for potential avenues to generate therapeutics to treat various ZEB1-related disorders."]

Address: Department of Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.; James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.; Department of Ophthalmology, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South China University, Changsha 410011, China.; Department of Ophthalmology, Third People's Hospital of Dalian, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116033, China.; Birth Defects Center, University of Louisville School of Dentistry, Louisville, KY 40202, USA.

DOI: 10.3390/cells10040925

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MeSH Terms: Cornea, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Inflammation, Wound Healing, Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Homeobox 1