The peripheral eye: A neurogenic area with potential to treat retinal pathologies?

Publication date: Available online 8 September 2018Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye ResearchAuthor(s): Marta Fernández-Nogales, Verónica Murcia-Belmonte, Holly Yu Chen, Eloísa HerreraAbstractNumerous degenerative diseases affecting visual function, including glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa, are produced by the loss of different types of retinal cells. Cell replacement therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for treating these and other retinal diseases. The retinal margin or ciliary body (CB) of mammals has been proposed as a potential source of cells to be used in degenerative conditions affecting the retina because it has been reported it might hold neurogenic potential beyond embryonic development. However, many aspects of the origin and biology of the CB are unknown and more recent experiments have challenged the capacity of CB cells to generate different types of retinal neurons. Here we review the most recent findings about the development of the marginal zone of the retina in different vertebrates and some of the mechanisms underlying the proliferative and neurogenic capacity of this fascinating region of the vertebrates eye. In addition, we performed experiments to isolate CB cells from the mouse retina, generated neurospheres and observed that they can be expanded with a proliferative ratio similar to neural stem cells. When induced to differentiate, cells derived from the CB neurospheres start to express early neural markers but, unlike embryonic stem ce...
Source: Progress in Retinal and Eye Research - Category: Opthalmology Source Type: research