Rol de los cofactores de transcripción Yap/Taz en la morfogénesis y diferenciación del Epitelio Pigmentario de la Retina

Abstract

The Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE) is the most external cell layer of the retina with important roles in vision and photoreceptor homeostasis. Indeed, when the RPE is damaged or does not properly form during embyogenesis, vision becomes seriously compromised. This epithelial structure derives from the outer layer of the optic cup and develops with a similar mechanism across all vertebrates. As development proceeds, RPE cells are exposed to tensional forces and morphogenetic movements that contributes to shape the eye. Recently, two related transcriptional cofactors, Yap and Taz, have been identified as crucial regulators of RPE development, so that their inactivation or mutations impair RPE development. Mechanical stress and biophysical stimuli are important regulators of Yap/Taz activity, allowing to suggest new hypothesis on the mechanisms underlying RPE development. Here I will review the current knowledge on the role of Yap/Taz in eye development, trying to provide a view on how they function in the optic cup with an evolutionary conserved mechanism.