Norrin expression in endothelial cells in the developing mouse retina

Norrin, a protein that acts on Frizzled-4 receptor, participates in angiogenesis in a variety of contexts through the Wnt-signaling pathway. Specifically, Norrin is found to play a crucial role in retinal vascularization. Norrin's pivotal role in angiogenesis led us to investigate its expression and the primary source in the developing retina. In this study we demonstrate, for the first time, that Norrin protein is expressed along the retinal blood vessels. The expression of Norrin coincided with the pattern of vascular growth in the developing mouse retina, and its expression was identified from the endothelial cells of the retinal capillaries. Furthermore, Norrin was also expressed on endothelial cells of the developing human retina. Given that Norrin is crucial in the normal development and maintenance of ocular capillaries, our finding provides a hint of the involvement of Norrin in the self generative and protective mechanism of the endothelial cells in the developing retina.