Researchers identify signal for eye development

Researchers have linked an ectoenzyme to eye development, according to a press release from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Professors Nick Dale and Elizabeth Jones found that when the ectoenzyme E-NTPDase2 is introduced in tadpole cells that form the head area of the tadpole, multiple eyes appear to be created. Additionally, when E-NTPDase2 is introduced in tadpole cells that form other body parts, additional eyes still develop, according to the release.

E-NTPDase2 latches on to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which converts it into adenosine diphosphate (ADP). The researchers hypothesized that ATP is released in a short burst from the location where the eye will develop so that it can be converted to ADP by E-NTPDase2. They were able to measure these ATP bursts using specially developed sensors.

"The Warwick research shows that this short burst of ATP followed by accumulation of ADP is a key signal for initiating expression of the [Eye Field Transcription Factors] and hence the development of the eye," the release said.

In addition, the finding is not restricted to frogs. E-NTPDase2 gene mutations on the human ninth chromosome are known to cause severe head and eye defects.

"This suggests that this newly discovered mechanism for triggering eye development applies across a wide range of species," the release said.

The study is published in the Oct. 25 issue of Nature.