Fibroblast growth factors are necessary for neural retina but not pigmented epithelium differentiation in chick embryos.

During eye development, optic vesicles evaginate laterally from the neural tube and develop into two bilayered eye cups that are composed of an outer pigment epithelium layer and an inner neural retina layer. Despite their similar embryonic origin, the pigment epithelium and neural retina differentiate into two very distinct tissues. Previous studies have demonstrated that the developmental potential of the pigmented epithelial cells is not completely restricted; until embryonic day 4.5 in chick embryos, the cells are able to switch their phenotype and differentiate into neural retina when treated with fibroblast growth factors (FGF) (Park, C. M., and Hollenberg, M. J. (1989). Dev. Biol. 134, 201-205; Pittack, C., Jones, M., and Reh, T. A. 1991). Development 113, 577-588; Guillemot, F. and Cepko, C. L. (1992). Development 114, 743-754). These studies motivated us to test whether FGF is necessary for neural retina differentiation during the initial stages of eye cup development. Optic vesicles from embryonic day 1.5 chick were cultured for 24 hours as explants in the presence of FGF or neutralizing antibodies to FGF2. The cultured optic vesicles formed eye cups that contained a lens vesicle, neural retina and pigmented epithelium, based on morphology and expression of neural and pigmented epithelium-specific antigens. Addition of FGF to the optic vesicles caused the presumptive pigmented epithelium to undergo neuronal differentiation and, as a consequence, a double retina was formed. By contrast, neutralizing antibodies to FGF2 blocked neural differentiation in the presumptive neural retina, without affecting pigmented epithelial cell differentiation. These data, along with evidence for expression of several FGF family members and their receptors in the developing eye, indicate that members of the FGF family may be required for establishing the distinction between the neural retina and pigmented epithelium in the optic vesicle.

Transdifferentiation and retinal regeneration.

The neural retina of amphibians and chick embryos regenerates following damage. Retinal regeneration requires a change in the differentiated state of the cells of the pigmented epithelium of the retina to a neural progenitor phenotype. The molecular mechanisms that control the cell fate decision between these two very different cell types involves soluble growth factors of the fibroblast growth factor family, as well as components of the extracellular matrix. Recent experiments have also begun to detail differences in gene expression between the neural retina and the pigment epithelium that may be critical for their phenotypic distinction.

Basic fibroblast growth factor induces retinal pigment epithelium to generate neural retina in vitro.

During embryogenesis, the cells of the eye primordium are initially capable of giving rise to either neural retina or pigmented epithelium (PE), but become restricted to one of these potential cell fates. However, following surgical removal of the retina in embryonic chicks and larval amphibians, new neural retina is generated by the transdifferentiation, or phenotypic switching, of PE cells into neuronal progenitors. A recent study has shown that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) stimulates this process in chicks in vivo. To characterize further the mechanisms by which this factor regulates the phenotype of retinal tissues, we added bFGF to enzymatically dissociated chick embryo PE. We found that bFGF stimulated proliferation and caused several morphological changes in the PE, including the loss of pigmentation; however, no transdifferentiation to neuronal phenotypes was observed. By contrast, when small sheets of PE were cultured as aggregates on a shaker device, preventing flattening and spreading on the substratum, we found that a large number of retinal progenitor cells were generated from the PE treated with bFGF. These results indicate that bFGF promotes retinal regeneration in vitro, as well as in ovo, and suggest that the ability of chick PE to undergo transdifferentiation to neuronal progenitors appears to be dependent on the physical configuration of the cells.

Common mechanisms of retinal regeneration in the larval frog and embryonic chick.

Amphibians and embryonic chicks possess the ability to regenerate retinal neurons by the transdifferentiation of pigment epithelium into neuronal progenitors. Recent studies have begun to identify the molecular factors involved in this process. Laminin (a component of the extracellular matrix) has been shown to be important in the process of retinal regeneration in the larval frog both in vitro and in vivo and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) stimulates the same process in chicks in vivo. To determine the mechanisms by which these factors induce retinal regeneration we studied their effects on cultured chick pigment epithelium cells. bFGF was added to enzymically dissociated chick embryo pigment epithelial cells plated at several different densities on various substrates including laminin. We found that bFGF stimulated proliferation but although the cells lost pigmentation and demonstrated distinct morphological changes, no definitive transdifferentiation could be demonstrated using several neuron-specific antibodies as markers. When the pigment epithelium was cultured as aggregates on a shaker device which prevented flattening and spreading on the substrate a large number of retinal progenitor cells were generated from the pigment epithelium treated with bFGF. The ability of chick pigment epithelium to undergo transdifferentiation thus appears to be dependent on the physical configuration of the cells.

Endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule 1: direct expression cloning and functional interactions.

A cDNA for endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1) was isolated by transient expression in COS-7 cells of a subtracted cDNA library from cytokine-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), with selection of ELAM-1-expressing clones by adhesion of transfected cells to the human promyelocytic cell line HL-60. This cloning method requires neither antibody nor purified ligand. ELAM-1-expressing COS cells bind the promyelocytic cell line HL-60 by a Ca2(+)-dependent but temperature-independent mechanism. Although ELAM-1 is homologous to mammalian lectins, its interaction with HL-60 cells is not inhibited by simple carbohydrate structures. ELAM-1-expressing COS cells also bind human neutrophils and the human colon carcinoma cell line HT-29, but not the B-cell line Ramos. However, Ramos cells adhere to cytokine-treated HUVECs but not control HUVECs, confirming the existence of other inducible adhesion molecules. In addition, the binding of HL-60 cells or neutrophils to ELAM-1-expressing COS cells is not inhibited by a monoclonal antibody (60.3) directed to an inhibitory epitope on CD18, indicating that the ELAM-1 ligand, although uncharacterized, is not a member of the CD11/CD18 family.