Lens Placode Modulates Extracellular Matrix Formation During Early Eye Development.

One of the first morphogenic events in lens development is placodal thickening, which converts the presumptive lens ectoderm from cuboidal to pseudostratified epithelium. This process occurs within the anterior pre-placodal ectoderm where the optic vesicle approaches the cephalic ectoderm. While the role extracellular matrix (ECM) in multiple events of morphogenesis has been well described, little is known about its specific role in early eye development. Since cells and ECM have a dynamic relationship of interdependence and modulation, we hypothesized that the ECM evolves with the cell shape changes during lens placode formation. This study investigates changes in optic ECM including both protein distribution deposition, extracellular gelatinase activity and gene expression patterns during early optic development using chicken and mouse models. In particular, the expression of Timp2 , a metalloprotease inhibitor, corresponds with a decrease in gelatinase activity within the optic ECM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that optic ECM remodeling depends on BMP signaling and placode differentiation. Together, our findings suggest that the lens placode plays an active role in remodeling the optic ECM during early eye development.