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N-myc gene may influence retinal proliferation, fetal eye growth, experimental study suggests
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The N-myc gene, which is found in retinal progenitor cells, may influence the regulation of cell proliferation, size, differentiation and survival during development, according to a study involving mice by researchers in Tennessee.
Michael A. Dyer, PhD, and colleagues at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, examined the retinas of N-myc-deficient mice to determine the genetic mechanisms behind retinal cell development and proliferation. They published their findings in the Jan. 15 issue of Genes & Development.
"N-myc represses the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 but acts independently of cyclin D1, the major D-type cyclin in the developing mouse retina," the study authors said.
The researchers found that the "acute inactivation" of N-myc led to increased expression of p27Kip1, which significantly decreased retinal volume in the mouse model.
However, no evidence of increased progenitor cell death was found between normal and N-myc-deficient mice, according to the study.