Honors Theses and Capstones

Date Completed

Spring 2026

Abstract

The Iberian ribbed newt Pleurodeles waltl can regenerate the lens by transdifferentiating iris pigmented epithelial (IPE) cells into lens epithelial cells (LECs), but the mechanism by which this occurs remains largely uncharacterized. We aim to mechanistically show an early and critical role for FGF signaling by using small molecules to inhibit FGF receptors and observe the histological and intracellular effects. Two inhibitors were found to completely stall lens regeneration. Cell cycle analysis revealed decreased DNA synthesis and uniformly low but unchanged entry to mitosis under signaling inhibition by staining for EdU incorporation and phospho-histone H3 (pH3), respectively. Western blot revealed decreased phospho/total ratio of downstream effector ERK, and RNA sequencing (RNAseq) revealed decreased expression of putative gene targets of FGF signaling. We also showed that regeneration can be reactivated by ceasing inhibition, thus suggesting a constitutively regenerative cellular environment post lens removal. These results provide strong evidence that FGF signaling is necessary for lens regeneration, and suggests it functions as an early initiator of cell cycle entry.

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

First Advisor

Konstantinos Sousounis

College or School

COLSA

Department or Program

MCBS

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

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