Development of the Ocular Lens

This book provides a comprehensive view of research in lens developmental biology, emphasising technical and molecular breakthroughs. Elucidation of the mechanisms that govern lens development has enabled us to understand how the normal lens forms and how developmental processes are involved in the maintenance of its normal structure, function and growth throughout life. This knowledge is fundamental to our understanding of many lens disorders. The ocular lens has also become a model for understanding the developmental biology of more complex organ systems. In this 2004 book, leading experts in lens cell biology and development discuss lens evolution, induction, morphology, the regulation of the lens cell cycle and fiber cell differentiation, as well as lens regeneration. This book is an authoritative treatment of the subject that will serve as a reference for graduate students and research scientists in developmental biology and in the visual sciences, as well as for ophthalmologists.

Part I. Early Lens Development: 1. The lens: historical and comparative perspectives Michael L. Robinson and Frank J. Lovicu; 2. Lens induction and determination Marilyn Fisher and Robert M. Grainger; 3. Transcription factors in early lens development Guy Goudreau, Nicole Andrejewski and Peter Gruss; Part II. The Lens: 4. The structure of the vertebrate lens Jer R. Kuszak and M. Joseph Costello; 5. Lens crystallins Melinda K. Duncan, Ales Cvekl, Marc Kantorow and Joram Piatigorsky; 6. Lens cell membranes Joerg Kistler, Reiner Eckert and Paul Donaldson; 7. Lens cell cytoskeleton Roy Quinlan and Alan Prescott; Part III. Lens Development and Growth: 8. Lens cell proliferation: the cell cycle Anne E. Griep and Pumin Zhang; 9. Lens fiber differentiation Steven Bassnett and David Beebe; 10. Role of matrix and cell adhesion molecules in lens differentiation A. Sue Menko and Janice L. Walker; 11. Growth factors in lens development Richard A. Lang and John W. McAvoy; 12. Lens regeneration Katia Del Rio-Tsonis and Goro Eguchi.

This 2004 book provides a broad and authoritative treatment of the developmental biology of the ocular lens. Written by leading authorities in the field, it will serve as a reference for graduate students and research scientists in the visual sciences and developmental biology, as well as for ophthalmologists.