Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
The lens is an avascular organ that focuses light onto the retina where neural signals are transmitted to the brain and translated into images. Lens transparency is vital for maintaining function. The lens is formed through a transition from organelle-rich epithelial cells to organelle-free fiber cells. Lens cell differentiation, leading to the lack of organelles, provides an environment optimal for minimizing light scatter and maximizing the ability to focus light onto the retina. The process responsible for orchestrating lens cell differentiation has yet to be elucidated. In recent years, data has emerged that led our lab to hypothesize that autophagy is likely involved in lens cell maintenance, cell differentiation, and maintenance of lens transparency. As a first step towards testing this hypothesis, we used RT-PCR, western blot analysis, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, and next generation RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) to examine autophagy genes expressed by the lens to begin mapping their lens function.
Extent
vii, 27 p. : ill. (some col.)
Recommended Citation
Mattucci, Lyndzie., "Expression of autophagy transcripts and proteins in the ocular lens suggests a role for autophagy in lens cell and cellular differentiation" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 773.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/773
Identifier
FADT3360958
Comments
by Lyndzie Mattucci.|Vita.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.|Includes bibliography.|Mode of access: World Wide Web.|System requirements: Adobe Reader.|by Lyndzie Mattucci.