Fig. 9.

E-cadherin expression in Le-AP-2α mice. A: Immunofluorescent staining of paraffin-embedded sections at various developmental stages (E 10.5, E12.5, E13.5, E15.5, postnatal day P0) revealed a gradual reduction of E-cadherin protein expression within the lenses of Le-AP-2α mutant mice compared to control littermates. No E-cadherin expression was observed in the cells lining the lens stalk (dotted outline). B: Western blot analysis of adult (4 weeks old) control and Le-AP-2α mouse lenses confirmed a significant decrease in E-cadherin expression in mutant mice. Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein expression served as the loading control. Data are presented as relative light units (mean ± SEM) with representative immunoblot (E-cadherin and GAPDH) below. Asterisks indicate P < 0.05 vs. wild-type lens tissue (Student's t-test).