Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40466854›Full record

ArticleExperimental eye research2025

DAPL1 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of retinal pigment epithelial cells by regulating the TGF-β/MITF pathway.

Yaqi You, Youjia Liu, Lijing Huang, Wan-Ni Lu, Yingxin Zhang, Tianyin Nie, Meiyu Jing, J Fielding Hejtmancik, Xingyi Li, Ling Hou and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Experimental eye research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yaqi YouLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Youjia LiuLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Lijing HuangLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Wan-Ni LuLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Yingxin ZhangLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Tianyin NieLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
Meiyu JingLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China.
J Fielding HejtmancikOphthalmic Genetics and Visual Function Branch, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Xingyi LiNational Engineering Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China. Electronic address: lixingyi_1984@mail.eye.ac.cn.
Ling HouLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China. Electronic address: lhou@eye.ac.cn.
Xiaoyin MaLaboratory of Developmental Cell Biology and Disease, State Key Laboratory of Eye Health, Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325027, China. Electronic address: xyma2015@wmu.edu.cn.

Funding

INHERITED OCULAR DISEASESZ01EY000272 · NEI · NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE · PI HEJTMANCIK, JAMES F. · 1991 to 2008
$4.8M
Intramural NIH HHS Z01 EY000272
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a critical factor in the development of retinopathies, including proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which are the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Deficiency in DAPL1 can induce RPE-EMT in vivo, and Dapl1 knockout mice (Dapl1 -/-) are prone to PVR, while aged Dapl1 -/- mice display AMD-like pathological features. However, the molecular mechanisms through which DAPL1 regulates RPE-EMT remain largely unknown. Here, using Dapl1 -/- mice and DAPL1 knockdown or overexpression RPE cells, we show that DAPL1 inhibits RPE-EMT by regulating the TGF-β/MITF signaling pathway, a critical signaling pathway/transcription factor in RPE cells. Overexpression of DAPL1 inhibits TGF-β-induced RPE-EMT, while deletion of Dapl1 in mice activates TGF-β signaling, decreases MITF expression, and promotes RPE-EMT under physiological or PVR pathological conditions. Gene therapy demonstrates that transgenic overexpression of MITF in Dapl1 -/- mice inhibits RPE-EMT in vivo and prevents retinal detachment-induced PVR pathological progress, offering hope for future treatment. Similarly, pharmacological therapy with Isoviolanthin, a flavonoid glycoside isolated from traditional medicinal herbs, inhibits TGF-β signaling and increases MITF expression in RPE cells in Dapl1 -/- mice, which then effectively rescues experimental PVR in Dapl1 -/- mice. These results suggest that DAPL1 regulates RPE-EMT at least partial through the TGF-β/MITF pathway and that targeting the TGF-β/MITF pathway could be a potential therapeutic strategy to treat Dapl1 deficiency-induced RPE-EMT-related retinal diseases, instilling hope for the future of retinal disease treatment.

Indexed as

Adaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingEpithelial-Mesenchymal TransitionGene Expression RegulationRetinal Pigment EpitheliumTransforming Growth Factor betaVitreoretinopathy, ProliferativeAnimalsBlotting, WesternCells, CulturedDisease Models, AnimalHumansMiceMice, Inbred C57BLMice, KnockoutSignal TransductionAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingTransforming Growth Factor betaDAPL1EMTMITFPVRRPETGF-β signaling

Identifiers

PMID40466854
PMCPMC12303737

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.