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 Clark, John, Ph.D.
Professor
clarkji@u.washington.edu
I-464c
(206) 685-0950
Dr. Clark's COS page -- a complete description of research and for an updated
bibliography with abstracts
Lens cells offer a unique opportunity to study the chemical and molecular basis for
the regulation of cell differentiation. Lens cells begin opaque and differentiate into transparent cells and
the optical quality of the lens is the result of a highly synchronized, multistep process of cell proliferation
, migration, and differentiation. The transparency and refractile properties of the lens are determined by
expression of high concentrations of the alpha and beta/gamma crystallin families of proteins. The
diversity of the individual crystallins contributes to the complex structural organization of the proteins in
the homogeneous transparent cytoplasm. The structural and functional interactions between crystallin
proteins that are responsible for the development and maintenance of lens cell transparency and
refraction are the primary considerations of our research effort. Quantitative techniques of protein
biochemistry, molecular biology, LASER light scattering spectroscopy, and light and electron microscopy
are used in these studies. We are developing new methods for analysis of electron and light micrographs
of cell and tissue structure using 2-D Fourier methods, fractal analysis and chaos theory.
The principles of lens cell differentiation apply to differentiation of other cells and tissues including red
blood cells, skin cells, and muscle fibers.
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