Journal of Cytology & Histology

Aberrant Activity of TAK1 is Associated with Retinal Pathology

Abstract

Dvashi Z, Rosner M, Stein R, Ziv H, Barshack I and Pollack A*

Transforming growth factor-β-activated kinase-1 (TAK1) is a mitogen activated protein kinase kinase kinase that is involved in diverse biological roles across species. Functioning downstream of TGF-β, TAK1 mediates the activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway, serves as the target of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, mediates NF-κβ activation, and plays a role in Wnt signaling in mesenchymal stem cells. Still, the expression of TAK1 in the retina has not been defined. In our study, pathological and immunohistochemical assessments indicate a link between retinal pathology and TAK1 phosphorylation. We observed similar TAK1 expression both in non-obvious and obvious retinal pathologies. However, the phosphorylated form of TAK1 in the segments of retina with obvious pathology was hardly detected compared to its expression in the segments with non-obvious pathology. This finding indicates, for the first time, a possible involvement of TAK1 in human retinal pathologies. Better understanding the expression pattern of TAK1 may serve as a new therapeutic avenue for retinal pathologies.