PROX1 Polyclonal Antibody, Invitrogen™

Description

• The expression pattern of the Prox1 homeo box gene suggests that it has a role in a variety of embryonic tissues, including lens
• Analysis of mRNA reveals that Prox mRNA is present in many different human tissues and that lens demonstrated the highest level
• Homozygous Prox1-null mice die at midgestation from multiple developmental defects, and a targeted effect on lens development has been reported
• Prox1 inactivation caused abnormal cellular proliferation, downregulated expression of the cell cycle inhibitors Cdkn1b and Cdkn1c, misexpression of E-cadherin, and excessive apoptosis
• Consequently, mutant lens cells failed to polarize and elongate properly, resulting in a hollow lens
• The Prox1 gene is expressed in a subpopulation of endothelial cells that by budding and sprouting give rise to the lymphatic system
• Prox1 appears to be a specific and required regulator of the development of the lymphatic system
• Prox1 also has been document to be required for hepatocyte migration in the mouse
• Loss of Prox1 results in a smaller liver with a reduced population of clustered hepatocytes
• The homeodomain protein Prox1 regulates the egress of progenitor cells from the cell cycle in the embryonic mouse retina
• Cells lacking Prox1 are less likely to stop dividing, and ectopic expression of Prox1 forces progenitor cells to exit the cell cycle
• Prox1 acts as a key participant in progenitor-cell proliferation and cell-fate determination in the vertebrate retina.