FOXE3 siRNA – Forkhead Box Protein E3 (Mouse)

FOXE3: Defects in FOXE3 are a cause of anterior segment mesenchymal dysgenesis (ASMD); also known as anterior segment ocular dysgenesis (ASOD). ASMD consists of a range of developmental defects in structures at the front of the eye, resulting from abnormal migration or differentiation of the neural crest derived mesenchymal cells that give rise to the cornea, iris, and other components of the anterior chamber during eye development. Mature anterior segment anomalies are associated with an increased risk of glaucoma and corneal opacity. Conditions falling within the phenotypic spectrum include aniridia, posterior embryotoxon, Axenfeld anomaly, Reiger anomaly/syndrome, Peters anomaly, and iridogoniodysgenesis. Defects in FOXE3 are a cause of congenital primary aphakia (CPA). Aphakia is a rare congenital eye disorder in which the lens is missing. It has been histologically subdivided into primary and secondary forms, in accordance with the severity of defects of the ocular tissues, whose development requires the initial presence of a lens. CPA results from an early developmental arrest, around the 4th-5th week of gestation in humans, that prevents the formation of any lens structure and leads to severe secondary ocular defects, including a complete aplasia of the anterior segment of the eye. In contrast, in secondary aphakic eyes, lens induction has occurred, and the lens vesicle has developed to some degree but finally has progressively resorbed perinatally, leading, therefore, to less-severe ocular defects.

Protein type: DNA-binding

Cellular Component: transcription factor complex; nucleus

Molecular Function: DNA binding; sequence-specific DNA binding; transcription factor activity

Biological Process: regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter; transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter; camera-type eye development; regulation of transcription, DNA-dependent; eye development; transcription, DNA-dependent; cell development; positive regulation of epithelial cell proliferation