The functional analysis of Lrig1 in the mouse cornea

Regenerative medicine aims to recreate functional tissues in vitro for the regeneration of damaged organs and solve the dramatic problem of transplant rejection. Cornea integrity is primordial for our vision. Several therapies to regenerate healthy corneal epithelium already exist, but we are still unable to identify stem/progenitor cells precisely. Finding candidate markers for those cells is the required step for the development of new techniques for clinicians. Lrig1 has been proposed to be associated with a multipotent stem cell population in the epidermis. Lrig1 was hypothesized to be a candidate marker for corneal epithelial stem/progenitor cells. In this report we describe our attempt to understand the molecular mechanisms of Lrig1 in the cornea. Lrig1 knockout mice have already been genetically engineered and our study will focus on the differences between wild-type and knockout phenotypes. Our results demonstrate several unexpected differences and they reveal a more complex mode of action for Lrig1. We also found that Lrig1 might have unknown functions that should be investigated.